Fire near Limpopo (ZA)

23.44°S, 29.17°E · first detected on 22 October at 11:42

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 22 October at 11:42 to 23 October at 02:05, through 73 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 1,263 ha.

Detected extent: 1,263 ha
Cumulative power: 1,110 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 102 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 73
Estimated emissions: 1.9 kt of carbon; Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 22 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). Published data stop on 22 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
23 October at 02:05	39 MW	11	N21
23 October at 02:02	16 MW	1	Met12
23 October at 01:42	54 MW	3	Met12
23 October at 01:33	44 MW	1	Met10
23 October at 01:32	29 MW	2	Met12
23 October at 01:22	31 MW	2	Met12
23 October at 01:20	90 MW	25	N20
23 October at 01:18	81 MW	2	Met10
23 October at 01:18	36 MW	1	Met9
23 October at 01:12	35 MW	2	Met12
23 October at 01:03	115 MW	2	Met10
23 October at 01:03	87 MW	2	Met9
23 October at 01:02	77 MW	3	Met12
23 October at 01:01	123 MW	23	N
23 October at 00:52	53 MW	3	Met12
23 October at 00:48	137 MW	3	Met9
23 October at 00:48	209 MW	3	Met10
23 October at 00:42	124 MW	4	Met12
23 October at 00:33	228 MW	3	Met10
23 October at 00:33	156 MW	3	Met9
23 October at 00:32	103 MW	3	Met12
23 October at 00:22	297 MW	28	N21
23 October at 00:22	128 MW	4	Met12
23 October at 00:18	261 MW	3	Met10
23 October at 00:18	175 MW	3	Met9
23 October at 00:12	186 MW	4	Met12
23 October at 00:03	165 MW	3	Met9
23 October at 00:03	256 MW	3	Met10
23 October at 00:02	62 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 23:52	56 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 23:48	85 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 23:48	48 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 23:42	38 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 23:33	33 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 23:32	23 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 23:22	16 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 23:02	13 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 22:52	17 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 22:48	22 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 22:42	17 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 22:33	20 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 22:22	28 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 22:18	21 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 22:12	13 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 22:03	27 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 22:02	10 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 21:52	19 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 21:48	38 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 21:42	35 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 21:34	25 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 21:33	39 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 21:22	54 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 21:19	29 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 21:18	60 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 21:12	15 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 21:04	32 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 21:02	18 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 20:51	39 MW	2	Terra
22 October at 20:42	43 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 20:34	32 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 20:32	17 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 19:22	14 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 18:52	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 18:32	10 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 18:12	15 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 18:02	15 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 17:52	29 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 17:42	14 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 17:32	36 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 17:22	19 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 17:19	34 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 17:12	21 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 17:04	38 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 17:02	20 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 16:52	50 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 16:49	53 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 16:48	53 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 16:34	50 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 16:33	98 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 16:32	14 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 16:22	30 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 16:19	127 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 16:18	82 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 16:14	135 MW	5	Aqua
22 October at 16:12	42 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 16:04	164 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 16:03	203 MW	3	Met10
22 October at 16:02	84 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 15:52	37 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 15:48	56 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 15:48	46 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 15:42	21 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 15:33	55 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 15:33	59 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 15:32	25 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 15:22	66 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 15:18	119 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 15:18	63 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 15:12	82 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 15:03	75 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 15:03	124 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 15:02	105 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 14:52	55 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 14:48	69 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 14:48	126 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 14:42	71 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 14:33	79 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 14:33	128 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 14:32	99 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 14:22	185 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 14:18	306 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 14:18	267 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 14:12	112 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 14:08	164 MW	8	N20
22 October at 14:03	207 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 14:03	250 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 14:02	243 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 13:52	227 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 13:48	192 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 13:48	208 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 13:47	159 MW	11	N
22 October at 13:42	130 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 13:33	200 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 13:33	233 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 13:32	161 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 13:22	559 MW	9	Met12
22 October at 13:18	362 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 13:18	238 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 13:12	726 MW	9	Met12
22 October at 13:10	514 MW	12	N21
22 October at 13:03	764 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 13:03	725 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 13:02	422 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 12:52	767 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 12:48	782 MW	5	Met9
22 October at 12:48	672 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 12:42	285 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 12:33	819 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 12:33	1,025 MW	5	Met9
22 October at 12:32	1,494 MW	9	Met12
22 October at 12:22	217 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 12:18	633 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 12:18	360 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 12:12	192 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 12:03	134 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 12:03	70 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 12:02	158 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 11:52	68 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 11:48	144 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 11:48	180 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 11:42	37 MW	2	Met12

8 other fires near Limpopo (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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