Fire near Kwando-Kubango (AO)

14.91°S, 18.98°E · first detected on 21 October at 12:33

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 21 October at 12:33 to 22 October at 16:16, through 73 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 1,241 ha.

Detected extent: 1,241 ha
Cumulative power: 3,345 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 241 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 73
Estimated emissions: 4.7 kt of carbon; Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 21 October 2026 to 22 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).

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 4 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 18:43	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 18:33	42 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 18:23	137 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 18:20	266 MW	5	Met9
22 October at 18:19	266 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 18:13	269 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 18:03	145 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 17:23	34 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 17:13	63 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 17:04	155 MW	3	Met10
22 October at 17:03	130 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 16:53	80 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 16:49	146 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 16:43	200 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 16:35	196 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 16:33	204 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 16:23	86 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 16:20	413 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 16:16	452 MW	2	Aqua
22 October at 16:13	41 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 16:03	70 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 15:53	95 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 15:49	604 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 15:49	289 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 15:43	765 MW	10	Met12
22 October at 15:34	201 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 15:34	408 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 15:33	287 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 15:23	167 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 15:13	138 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 14:53	15 MW	1	N21
22 October at 14:43	101 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 14:23	66 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 14:13	88 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 14:10	116 MW	10	N20
22 October at 14:04	48 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 13:53	127 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 13:49	236 MW	25	N
22 October at 13:43	305 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 13:34	465 MW	3	Met10
22 October at 13:34	618 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 13:33	463 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 13:23	1,245 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 13:19	1,202 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 13:19	146 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 13:13	535 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 13:04	917 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 13:04	661 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 13:03	602 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 12:53	174 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 12:49	249 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 12:49	473 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 12:43	293 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 12:34	834 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 12:34	1,253 MW	5	Met9
22 October at 12:33	647 MW	9	Met12
22 October at 12:23	223 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 12:19	227 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 12:19	179 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 12:13	234 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 12:04	174 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 12:04	143 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 12:03	95 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 11:53	98 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 11:49	105 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 11:49	127 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 11:43	60 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 11:34	131 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 11:34	160 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 11:33	79 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 11:23	188 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 11:19	373 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 11:19	389 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 11:13	361 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 11:04	940 MW	5	Met10
22 October at 11:04	800 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 11:03	400 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 10:53	247 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 10:49	211 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 10:49	175 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 10:43	58 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 02:22	0 MW	1	N21
21 October at 18:03	13 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 17:33	22 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 16:43	10 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 16:33	13 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 16:23	16 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 15:43	84 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 15:33	238 MW	6	Met12
21 October at 15:23	454 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 15:14	1,752 MW	14	N21
21 October at 15:13	1,463 MW	9	Met12
21 October at 15:04	1,176 MW	3	Met9
21 October at 15:04	580 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 15:03	953 MW	9	Met12
21 October at 14:53	128 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 14:43	144 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 14:34	433 MW	3	Met9
21 October at 14:33	191 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 14:29	359 MW	9	N20
21 October at 14:23	519 MW	6	Met12
21 October at 14:13	86 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 14:10	414 MW	11	N
21 October at 14:03	194 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 13:53	139 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 13:43	126 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 13:33	603 MW	6	Met12
21 October at 13:23	34 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 13:19	46 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 13:13	60 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 13:04	349 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 13:04	430 MW	3	Met9
21 October at 13:03	285 MW	5	Met12
21 October at 12:53	87 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 12:49	63 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 12:49	56 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 12:43	98 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 12:34	196 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 12:34	195 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 12:33	205 MW	4	Met12

8 other fires near Kwando-Kubango (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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