Fire near Kwando-Kubango (AO)

17.62°S, 22.98°E · first detected on 18 October at 13:23

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 18 October at 13:23 to 21 October at 14:27, that is 3 days, through 98 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 1,645 ha.

Detected extent: 1,645 ha
Cumulative power: 1,257 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 91 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 98
Estimated emissions: 1.8 kt of carbon; Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 18 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).

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 6 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 11:52	26 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 16:19	36 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 16:12	12 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 15:32	17 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 15:22	60 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 15:19	36 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 15:12	16 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 14:52	43 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 14:27	48 MW	3	N20
21 October at 14:08	26 MW	2	N
21 October at 13:32	40 MW	3	N21
21 October at 11:52	25 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 17:02	10 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 16:42	13 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 16:40	14 MW	1	Aqua
20 October at 16:32	30 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 14:49	69 MW	10	N20
20 October at 14:02	11 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 13:52	15 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 13:49	83 MW	4	N21
20 October at 13:42	27 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 13:32	37 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 13:22	59 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 13:12	11 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 12:22	48 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 02:16	2 MW	1	N20
20 October at 01:56	10 MW	6	N
20 October at 01:20	4 MW	4	N21
19 October at 19:04	43 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 19:04	55 MW	2	Met9
19 October at 19:02	14 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 18:52	34 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 18:50	55 MW	2	Met9
19 October at 18:49	41 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 18:35	55 MW	2	Met9
19 October at 18:34	40 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 18:32	14 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 18:22	17 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 18:19	89 MW	2	Met10
19 October at 18:19	96 MW	3	Met9
19 October at 18:12	64 MW	3	Met12
19 October at 18:04	118 MW	3	Met9
19 October at 18:04	98 MW	2	Met10
19 October at 18:02	11 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 17:52	44 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 17:49	191 MW	4	Met10
19 October at 17:49	139 MW	3	Met9
19 October at 17:34	123 MW	3	Met9
19 October at 17:34	177 MW	4	Met10
19 October at 17:32	17 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 17:22	94 MW	4	Met12
19 October at 17:19	170 MW	3	Met10
19 October at 17:19	151 MW	3	Met9
19 October at 17:12	30 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 17:04	272 MW	4	Met10
19 October at 17:04	242 MW	5	Met9
19 October at 17:02	89 MW	4	Met12
19 October at 16:52	102 MW	4	Met12
19 October at 16:49	217 MW	4	Met10
19 October at 16:49	179 MW	4	Met9
19 October at 16:42	52 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 16:34	322 MW	4	Met9
19 October at 16:34	341 MW	4	Met10
19 October at 16:32	170 MW	5	Met12
19 October at 16:22	130 MW	5	Met12
19 October at 16:19	31 MW	1	Met9
19 October at 16:19	211 MW	3	Met10
19 October at 16:12	106 MW	3	Met12
19 October at 16:04	225 MW	3	Met10
19 October at 16:04	137 MW	2	Met9
19 October at 16:02	201 MW	5	Met12
19 October at 16:01	140 MW	2	Aqua
19 October at 15:52	19 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 15:49	221 MW	3	Met9
19 October at 15:49	249 MW	3	Met10
19 October at 15:42	72 MW	3	Met12
19 October at 15:34	262 MW	4	Met9
19 October at 15:34	255 MW	3	Met10
19 October at 15:32	222 MW	7	Met12
19 October at 15:22	472 MW	11	Met12
19 October at 15:19	359 MW	4	Met9
19 October at 15:19	622 MW	4	Met10
19 October at 15:12	400 MW	10	Met12
19 October at 15:06	131 MW	11	N20
19 October at 15:04	228 MW	3	Met10
19 October at 15:04	78 MW	2	Met9
19 October at 15:02	238 MW	8	Met12
19 October at 14:52	131 MW	5	Met12
19 October at 14:49	167 MW	2	Met10
19 October at 14:49	193 MW	3	Met9
19 October at 14:46	213 MW	12	N
19 October at 14:42	175 MW	7	Met12
19 October at 14:34	209 MW	3	Met9
19 October at 14:34	209 MW	2	Met10
19 October at 14:32	214 MW	7	Met12
19 October at 14:22	197 MW	3	Met12
19 October at 14:19	125 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 14:12	137 MW	5	Met12
19 October at 14:10	267 MW	12	N21
19 October at 14:04	215 MW	2	Met10
19 October at 14:04	72 MW	1	Met9
19 October at 14:02	281 MW	8	Met12
19 October at 13:52	136 MW	6	Met12
19 October at 13:34	176 MW	3	Met9
19 October at 13:34	120 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 13:32	201 MW	6	Met12
19 October at 13:25	97 MW	12	N20
19 October at 13:22	147 MW	6	Met12
19 October at 13:19	95 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 13:19	100 MW	2	Met9
19 October at 13:12	173 MW	6	Met12
19 October at 13:04	50 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 13:02	71 MW	4	Met12
19 October at 12:52	157 MW	7	Met12
19 October at 12:49	51 MW	1	Met9
19 October at 12:49	73 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 12:42	118 MW	5	Met12
19 October at 12:34	51 MW	1	Met9
19 October at 12:34	71 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 12:32	137 MW	5	Met12
19 October at 12:22	111 MW	4	Met12
19 October at 12:19	58 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 12:19	41 MW	1	Met9
19 October at 12:12	152 MW	6	Met12
19 October at 12:04	47 MW	1	Met9
19 October at 12:04	74 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 12:02	109 MW	4	Met12
19 October at 11:52	149 MW	5	Met12
19 October at 11:49	69 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 11:49	106 MW	2	Met9
19 October at 11:42	63 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 11:34	47 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 11:32	70 MW	3	Met12
19 October at 11:22	87 MW	3	Met12
19 October at 11:19	48 MW	1	Met9
19 October at 11:19	59 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 11:12	192 MW	5	Met12
19 October at 11:04	357 MW	4	Met10
19 October at 11:04	337 MW	4	Met9
19 October at 11:02	330 MW	6	Met12
19 October at 10:52	315 MW	7	Met12
19 October at 10:49	78 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 10:49	94 MW	2	Met9
19 October at 10:42	70 MW	3	Met12
19 October at 10:34	33 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 10:32	80 MW	3	Met12
19 October at 10:22	122 MW	4	Met12
19 October at 10:19	93 MW	2	Met10
19 October at 10:12	170 MW	5	Met12
19 October at 10:04	38 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 10:02	36 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 09:52	28 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 09:42	14 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 01:37	2 MW	2	N21
18 October at 15:04	16 MW	2	N
18 October at 14:27	67 MW	7	N21
18 October at 13:45	21 MW	3	N20
18 October at 13:23	8 MW	1	N

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.

Follow live

The map shows active fires in 3D, with smoke plumes, forecast wind, drop zones and the live position of water bombers tracked by ADS-B, anywhere in the world.

Open the fire map

Take the data of this fire with you

A ready-to-use archive, paid once, no subscription. It contains:

the satellite detections of the fire
the contours of its progression
the drops and the aircraft tracks
the lightning around it
the severity of the burned area, when computed

From €20.00 excl. VAT, six formats to choose from, link valid for 30 days.

Download the data

Pro subscribers: included. €49 excl. VAT a month, no commitment. The public map stays free. Discover GISFire Pro

© 2026 SARO · Gistin. All rights reserved. The interface, its presentation and the contents of GISFire are protected; reproducing or imitating them requires written permission. The source data remain the property of their respective producers, see the credits.

Legal notice · Privacy policy · · GISFire v2.4.2