Fire near KwaZulu-Natal (ZA)

27.55°S, 30.80°E · first detected on 21 October at 20:48

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 21 October at 20:48 to 22 October at 16:14, through 86 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 2,802 ha.

Detected extent: 2,802 ha
Cumulative power: 5,306 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 211 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 86
Estimated emissions: 208 t of carbon; Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 21 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 3 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 19:48	60 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 19:33	114 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 19:18	46 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 19:18	141 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 19:03	81 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 19:03	156 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 18:48	474 MW	5	Met9
22 October at 18:48	396 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 18:33	237 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 18:33	359 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 18:31	14 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 18:21	210 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 18:18	575 MW	3	Met10
22 October at 18:18	1,117 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 18:11	136 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 18:03	630 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 18:03	359 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 18:01	10 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 17:48	348 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 17:48	562 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 17:41	58 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 17:33	522 MW	5	Met10
22 October at 17:33	690 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 17:31	160 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 17:21	314 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 17:18	992 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 17:18	683 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 17:11	101 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 17:03	533 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 17:03	660 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 17:01	29 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 16:51	201 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 16:48	1,168 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 16:48	980 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 16:41	207 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 16:33	773 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 16:33	660 MW	5	Met10
22 October at 16:31	85 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 16:21	468 MW	10	Met12
22 October at 16:18	1,049 MW	5	Met10
22 October at 16:18	1,162 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 16:14	1,021 MW	18	Aqua
22 October at 16:11	489 MW	10	Met12
22 October at 16:03	1,358 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 16:03	1,228 MW	5	Met10
22 October at 16:01	907 MW	12	Met12
22 October at 15:51	1,381 MW	14	Met12
22 October at 15:48	1,953 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 15:48	2,022 MW	5	Met10
22 October at 15:41	2,550 MW	16	Met12
22 October at 15:33	2,186 MW	6	Met10
22 October at 15:33	1,705 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 15:31	1,356 MW	10	Met12
22 October at 15:21	5,009 MW	21	Met12
22 October at 15:18	2,841 MW	7	Met9
22 October at 15:18	3,023 MW	7	Met10
22 October at 15:11	3,695 MW	13	Met12
22 October at 15:03	2,298 MW	6	Met10
22 October at 15:03	2,745 MW	8	Met9
22 October at 15:01	3,204 MW	16	Met12
22 October at 14:51	2,026 MW	16	Met12
22 October at 14:48	1,714 MW	6	Met10
22 October at 14:48	1,806 MW	7	Met9
22 October at 14:41	1,209 MW	11	Met12
22 October at 14:33	1,409 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 14:33	1,324 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 14:31	1,232 MW	13	Met12
22 October at 14:21	1,325 MW	10	Met12
22 October at 14:18	1,777 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 14:18	1,781 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 14:11	1,295 MW	13	Met12
22 October at 14:06	2,031 MW	20	N20
22 October at 14:03	1,980 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 14:03	1,736 MW	5	Met10
22 October at 14:01	1,757 MW	12	Met12
22 October at 13:51	1,093 MW	12	Met12
22 October at 13:48	1,475 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 13:48	1,014 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 13:47	1,382 MW	32	N
22 October at 13:41	582 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 13:33	1,135 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 13:33	752 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 13:31	597 MW	9	Met12
22 October at 13:21	1,680 MW	11	Met12
22 October at 13:18	1,510 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 13:18	1,515 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 13:11	809 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 13:10	871 MW	15	N21
22 October at 13:03	1,293 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 13:03	1,564 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 13:01	1,235 MW	10	Met12
22 October at 12:51	843 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 12:48	1,047 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 12:48	1,143 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 12:41	1,011 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 12:33	1,044 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 12:33	852 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 12:31	844 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 12:21	396 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 12:18	512 MW	3	Met10
22 October at 12:18	704 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 12:11	617 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 12:03	518 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 12:03	589 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 12:01	411 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 11:51	455 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 11:48	459 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 11:48	461 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 11:41	85 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 00:44	1 MW	1	N21
21 October at 22:01	15 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 21:51	18 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 21:48	47 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 21:48	98 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 21:41	95 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 21:33	238 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 21:33	100 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 21:31	112 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 21:21	76 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 21:18	234 MW	3	Met10
21 October at 21:18	336 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 21:11	96 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 21:03	52 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 21:03	110 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 21:01	62 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 20:51	13 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 20:48	12 MW	1	Met10

8 other fires near KwaZulu-Natal (ZA)

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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