Fire near Limpopo (ZA)

24.42°S, 27.59°E · first detected on 10 October at 01:07

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 10 October at 01:07 to 22 October at 20:51, that is 13 days, through 765 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 9,578 ha.

Detected extent: 9,578 ha
Cumulative power: 8,847 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 321 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 765
Estimated emissions: 30.5 kt of carbon; Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 9 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 15 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	28 MW	3	N21
23 October at 01:22	12 MW	6	N20
23 October at 01:01	9 MW	3	N
23 October at 00:22	5 MW	2	N21
22 October at 22:52	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 21:22	12 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 20:51	16 MW	2	Terra
22 October at 19:12	13 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 19:04	36 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 18:52	13 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 18:02	10 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 17:52	12 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 17:42	10 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 17:32	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 17:22	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 17:12	51 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 16:52	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 16:32	34 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 16:22	10 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 16:14	57 MW	3	Aqua
22 October at 16:12	23 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 16:03	44 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 16:03	59 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 16:02	62 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 15:52	34 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 15:48	34 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 15:42	36 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 15:33	120 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 15:33	104 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 15:32	43 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 15:22	61 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 15:18	42 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 15:18	65 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 15:12	26 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 15:03	39 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 15:03	48 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 15:02	36 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 14:52	23 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 14:51	70 MW	4	N21
22 October at 14:48	63 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 14:48	43 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 14:42	19 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 14:33	59 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 14:33	42 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 14:22	43 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 14:18	44 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 14:12	31 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 14:08	94 MW	7	N20
22 October at 14:03	60 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 14:03	81 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 14:02	68 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 13:52	66 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 13:48	66 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 13:47	87 MW	4	N
22 October at 13:42	113 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 13:33	104 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 13:33	228 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 13:32	242 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 13:22	28 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 13:18	57 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 13:18	49 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 13:10	17 MW	3	N21
22 October at 01:39	10 MW	4	N20
22 October at 01:20	7 MW	4	N
22 October at 00:44	4 MW	1	N21
21 October at 01:58	4 MW	2	N20
21 October at 01:39	5 MW	4	N
21 October at 01:01	2 MW	1	N21
20 October at 22:22	31 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 22:12	30 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 22:02	19 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 21:22	11 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 21:13	63 MW	4	Terra
20 October at 21:02	11 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 20:52	26 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 19:12	10 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 18:02	11 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 17:22	11 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 17:12	11 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 17:02	35 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 16:52	22 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 16:42	12 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 16:37	25 MW	1	Aqua
20 October at 15:52	17 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 14:46	17 MW	2	N20
20 October at 14:25	54 MW	6	N
20 October at 13:52	37 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 13:47	45 MW	4	N21
20 October at 13:04	6 MW	1	N20
20 October at 02:18	6 MW	3	N20
20 October at 01:58	3 MW	3	N
20 October at 01:22	15 MW	9	N21
20 October at 00:37	10 MW	6	N20
19 October at 20:32	51 MW	2	Terra
19 October at 15:59	17 MW	1	Aqua
19 October at 14:44	74 MW	12	N
19 October at 14:08	24 MW	1	N21
19 October at 13:23	95 MW	6	N20
19 October at 03:54	114 MW	4	Aqua
19 October at 02:16	45 MW	8	N
19 October at 01:39	32 MW	6	N21
19 October at 00:57	15 MW	3	N20
19 October at 00:35	3 MW	2	N
18 October at 15:01	37 MW	3	N
18 October at 14:25	44 MW	3	N21
18 October at 13:42	21 MW	3	N20
18 October at 13:21	29 MW	5	N
18 October at 03:15	16 MW	1	Aqua
18 October at 01:58	30 MW	9	N21
18 October at 01:14	25 MW	6	N20
18 October at 00:57	19 MW	5	N
18 October at 00:18	2 MW	1	N21
17 October at 20:51	9 MW	1	Terra
17 October at 14:44	45 MW	5	N21
17 October at 14:02	19 MW	3	N20
17 October at 13:42	8 MW	2	N
17 October at 01:33	6 MW	6	N20
17 October at 01:14	3 MW	2	N
17 October at 00:37	4 MW	2	N21
16 October at 14:19	58 MW	7	N20
16 October at 14:00	118 MW	8	N
16 October at 13:23	156 MW	3	N21
16 October at 01:52	5 MW	4	N20
16 October at 01:31	4 MW	4	N
16 October at 00:57	1 MW	1	N21
15 October at 21:15	16 MW	2	Terra
15 October at 14:38	10 MW	1	N20
15 October at 02:11	23 MW	6	N20
15 October at 01:14	20 MW	9	N21
15 October at 00:31	15 MW	4	N20
14 October at 20:34	23 MW	2	Terra
14 October at 14:38	27 MW	3	N
14 October at 14:02	28 MW	5	N21
14 October at 08:27	31 MW	3	Terra
14 October at 04:00	31 MW	2	Aqua
14 October at 02:09	147 MW	52	N
14 October at 01:33	96 MW	29	N21
14 October at 00:50	121 MW	29	N20
14 October at 00:29	166 MW	31	N
13 October at 21:34	48 MW	2	Terra
13 October at 15:29	1,215 MW	8	Aqua
13 October at 14:55	780 MW	35	N
13 October at 14:19	1,819 MW	51	N21
13 October at 13:36	458 MW	39	N20
13 October at 03:22	9 MW	1	Aqua
12 October at 20:53	44 MW	6	Terra
12 October at 16:29	60 MW	3	Aqua
12 October at 14:38	131 MW	18	N21
12 October at 12:58	148 MW	14	N21
12 October at 08:46	23 MW	2	Terra
12 October at 02:11	74 MW	20	N21
12 October at 01:29	207 MW	41	N20
12 October at 01:07	18 MW	10	N
12 October at 00:31	676 MW	31	N21
11 October at 15:50	34 MW	2	Aqua
11 October at 14:14	84 MW	10	N20
11 October at 13:53	48 MW	11	N
11 October at 13:17	135 MW	11	N21
11 October at 08:10	20 MW	1	Terra
11 October at 03:43	39 MW	3	Aqua
11 October at 01:46	51 MW	15	N20
11 October at 01:26	73 MW	20	N
11 October at 00:50	117 MW	19	N21
10 October at 21:15	23 MW	2	Terra
10 October at 14:32	11 MW	2	N20
10 October at 02:03	6 MW	2	N20
10 October at 01:07	2 MW	1	N21

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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