Fire near Kunene (AO)

16.06°S, 16.01°E · first detected on 17 October at 14:04

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 17 October at 14:04 to 22 October at 15:31, that is 5 days, through 100 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 1,697 ha.

Detected extent: 1,697 ha
Cumulative power: 974 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 28 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 100
Estimated emissions: 2.3 kt of carbon; Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 17 October 2026 to 21 October 2026. An order-of-magnitude estimate from GFAS (ECMWF, Copernicus CAMS): it also counts neighbouring fires in the same cell. Contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information (2026). Published data stop on 21 October 2026.

These four figures cover the polar orbits alone, the ones that measure an area. The pass table below also counts geostationary detections, more frequent but too coarse for geometry, and its power column sums a whole pass where the peak above is that of a single pixel.

“Detected extent” is not “burned area”: it is the union of the ground footprints of the satellite pixels, and a pixel counts in full (375 m for VIIRS, 1 km for MODIS) even when only a forest edge is burning. Compared with press figures it is in practice one and a half to three times the area reported. Detections taken at the edge of the scan swath, too coarse to measure anything at all, are excluded. These figures come from thermal detection and are not an official assessment: only the emergency services and the competent authorities are authoritative.

Replay how the fire spread

The map is framed on this fire's footprint and loads only its detections. The timeline below covers the period in which satellites saw it, from the first to the last detection, with twelve hours before and twenty-four after; the ticks on the bar mark the emergency services' announcements that fall within it. The cursor opens on the most powerful pass, and playback replays the whole fire in about thirty seconds. “1 h” shows what is burning within an hour of the chosen moment : the map then follows the power curve below and empties when it falls. “24 h” stacks twenty-four hours : a fire stays visible between two satellite passes, which come two to four times a day. Both are true, but they say different things.

How the radiative power evolved

One point per satellite pass: the sum of the fire radiative power measured over the fire. This is the curve that says whether the fire eased off or picked up again, which no cumulative figure shows. The window covers 8 days; beyond that, clustering would merge two successive fires in the same place.

Fire dynamics

Loading history…

Satellite passes in detail

Pass	Power summed over the pass	Detections	Sensor
22 October at 15:42	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 15:34	48 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 15:32	55 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 15:31	48 MW	2	N
22 October at 15:22	79 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 15:12	35 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 14:53	17 MW	1	N21
21 October at 16:32	29 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 16:22	73 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 15:12	89 MW	10	N21
21 October at 14:34	114 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 14:32	78 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 14:27	105 MW	9	N20
21 October at 14:22	48 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 14:19	192 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 14:19	104 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 14:12	57 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 14:10	57 MW	10	N
21 October at 14:04	201 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 14:04	304 MW	3	Met9
21 October at 14:02	35 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 13:52	85 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 13:49	324 MW	3	Met9
21 October at 13:49	249 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 13:42	52 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 13:34	545 MW	4	Met10
21 October at 13:34	509 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 13:32	202 MW	6	Met12
21 October at 13:22	331 MW	7	Met12
21 October at 13:19	245 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 13:19	310 MW	3	Met9
21 October at 13:12	26 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 13:04	305 MW	3	Met9
21 October at 13:04	225 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 13:02	18 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 12:52	80 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 12:49	244 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 12:49	322 MW	3	Met10
21 October at 12:42	82 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 12:34	108 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 12:34	207 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 12:32	25 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 12:22	59 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 12:19	228 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 12:19	222 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 12:12	46 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 12:04	150 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 12:04	230 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 12:02	43 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 11:52	35 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 11:49	178 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 11:49	292 MW	3	Met9
21 October at 11:42	47 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 11:34	306 MW	3	Met9
21 October at 11:34	281 MW	3	Met10
21 October at 11:32	50 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 11:22	134 MW	5	Met12
21 October at 11:19	297 MW	3	Met9
21 October at 11:19	312 MW	4	Met10
21 October at 11:12	73 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 11:04	451 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 11:04	356 MW	4	Met10
21 October at 11:02	188 MW	8	Met12
21 October at 10:52	107 MW	5	Met12
21 October at 10:49	362 MW	4	Met10
21 October at 10:49	432 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 10:42	151 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 10:34	330 MW	3	Met9
21 October at 10:34	387 MW	4	Met10
21 October at 10:32	83 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 10:19	115 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 09:49	52 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 09:41	27 MW	2	Terra
20 October at 17:02	25 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 16:40	34 MW	2	Aqua
20 October at 16:04	212 MW	3	Met9
20 October at 15:52	11 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 15:49	55 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 15:34	124 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 15:34	108 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 15:22	48 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 15:19	298 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 15:19	214 MW	3	Met10
20 October at 15:12	16 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 15:04	68 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 15:04	63 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 14:52	12 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 14:49	144 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 14:49	285 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 14:46	188 MW	18	N20
20 October at 14:42	114 MW	5	Met12
20 October at 14:34	285 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 14:34	144 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 14:32	106 MW	5	Met12
20 October at 14:27	201 MW	17	N
20 October at 14:22	228 MW	7	Met12
20 October at 14:19	424 MW	4	Met10
20 October at 14:19	422 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 14:12	252 MW	11	Met12
20 October at 14:04	327 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 14:04	155 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 14:02	163 MW	9	Met12
20 October at 13:52	224 MW	9	Met12
20 October at 13:51	165 MW	20	N21
20 October at 13:49	348 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 13:49	161 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 13:42	209 MW	9	Met12
20 October at 13:34	728 MW	6	Met9
20 October at 13:34	588 MW	4	Met10
20 October at 13:32	476 MW	12	Met12
20 October at 13:22	370 MW	12	Met12
20 October at 13:19	450 MW	3	Met10
20 October at 13:19	569 MW	5	Met9
20 October at 13:12	304 MW	9	Met12
20 October at 13:04	715 MW	5	Met10
20 October at 13:04	644 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 13:02	366 MW	10	Met12
20 October at 12:52	321 MW	10	Met12
20 October at 12:49	716 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 12:49	700 MW	5	Met10
20 October at 12:42	586 MW	13	Met12
20 October at 12:34	91 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 12:34	69 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 12:32	92 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 12:22	142 MW	5	Met12
20 October at 12:19	235 MW	3	Met9
20 October at 12:19	171 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 12:12	74 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 12:04	99 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 12:04	146 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 12:02	68 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 11:52	165 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 11:49	195 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 11:49	387 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 11:42	72 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 11:34	133 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 11:34	83 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 11:32	65 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 11:22	236 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 11:19	183 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 11:19	129 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 11:12	56 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 11:04	344 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 11:04	277 MW	3	Met10
20 October at 11:02	56 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 10:52	54 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 10:49	74 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 10:49	112 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 10:42	31 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 10:34	63 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 10:34	111 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 10:32	59 MW	2	Met12
17 October at 15:23	22 MW	3	N
17 October at 14:04	32 MW	5	N20

8 other fires near Kunene (AO)

Separate fires, apart in time or in space, not pieces of this one. A single municipality can have several over one summer, and a forest massif often covers more than a hundred square kilometres.

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