Fire near Mashonaland occidental (ZW)

16.47°S, 29.03°E · first detected on 17 October at 08:44

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 17 October at 08:44 to 21 October at 01:37, that is 4 days, through 293 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 4,222 ha.

Detected extent: 4,222 ha
Cumulative power: 2,477 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 160 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 293
Estimated emissions: 2.8 kt of carbon; Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 17 October 2026 to 20 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
21 October at 06:52	10 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 06:42	11 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 06:32	36 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 06:22	91 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 06:12	12 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 06:02	32 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 05:52	18 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 05:42	15 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 05:32	43 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 05:22	27 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 05:02	11 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 04:52	12 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 04:42	32 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 04:32	29 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 01:37	24 MW	5	N
20 October at 18:12	73 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 17:32	10 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 17:22	22 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 17:12	36 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 16:52	65 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 16:42	69 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 16:32	46 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 16:22	70 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 16:12	83 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 16:04	343 MW	5	Met9
20 October at 16:02	224 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 15:52	482 MW	6	Met12
20 October at 15:49	915 MW	6	Met9
20 October at 15:49	682 MW	5	Met10
20 October at 15:42	207 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 15:34	141 MW	3	Met9
20 October at 15:34	134 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 15:32	26 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 15:22	84 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 15:19	279 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 15:19	281 MW	3	Met10
20 October at 15:12	254 MW	6	Met12
20 October at 15:04	390 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 15:04	343 MW	3	Met10
20 October at 15:02	170 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 14:52	108 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 14:49	344 MW	3	Met10
20 October at 14:49	319 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 14:42	751 MW	8	Met12
20 October at 14:34	315 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 14:34	396 MW	3	Met10
20 October at 14:32	233 MW	7	Met12
20 October at 14:22	612 MW	12	Met12
20 October at 14:19	1,044 MW	6	Met9
20 October at 14:19	947 MW	5	Met10
20 October at 14:12	884 MW	13	Met12
20 October at 14:04	386 MW	5	Met9
20 October at 14:04	328 MW	3	Met10
20 October at 14:02	302 MW	7	Met12
20 October at 13:52	308 MW	6	Met12
20 October at 13:49	288 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 13:49	362 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 13:49	494 MW	12	N21
20 October at 13:42	192 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 13:34	174 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 13:34	199 MW	3	Met9
20 October at 13:32	127 MW	5	Met12
20 October at 13:22	72 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 13:19	158 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 13:19	89 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 13:12	47 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 13:06	73 MW	13	N20
20 October at 13:04	193 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 13:04	201 MW	3	Met9
20 October at 13:02	77 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 12:52	84 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 12:49	202 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 12:49	169 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 12:42	73 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 12:34	195 MW	3	Met9
20 October at 12:34	195 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 12:32	41 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 12:22	230 MW	5	Met12
20 October at 12:19	170 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 12:19	149 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 12:12	34 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 12:04	314 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 12:04	390 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 12:02	146 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 11:12	35 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 10:04	110 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 10:04	61 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 09:42	17 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 09:34	216 MW	3	Met9
20 October at 09:34	54 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 09:32	43 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 09:19	65 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 09:04	57 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 08:52	17 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 08:49	60 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 08:42	63 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 08:32	39 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 08:22	41 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 08:19	77 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 08:19	79 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 08:12	65 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 08:03	80 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 08:02	30 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 07:52	42 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 07:48	79 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 07:42	18 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 07:34	41 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 07:33	87 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 07:32	18 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 07:22	11 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 07:19	43 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 07:18	119 MW	3	Met9
20 October at 07:12	70 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 07:04	40 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 07:03	75 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 07:02	30 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 06:52	13 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 06:42	24 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 06:12	26 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 06:04	34 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 06:02	13 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 05:52	18 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 05:42	25 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 02:16	25 MW	7	N20
20 October at 02:12	12 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 01:56	35 MW	14	N
20 October at 01:18	40 MW	18	N21
20 October at 00:33	24 MW	10	N20
19 October at 20:34	9 MW	1	Terra
19 October at 16:01	95 MW	5	Aqua
19 October at 14:46	30 MW	4	N
19 October at 14:10	183 MW	13	N21
19 October at 13:25	202 MW	17	N20
19 October at 13:06	78 MW	12	N
19 October at 08:25	24 MW	3	Terra
19 October at 03:52	25 MW	2	Aqua
19 October at 02:13	38 MW	12	N
19 October at 01:37	73 MW	18	N21
19 October at 00:54	35 MW	9	N20
19 October at 00:33	25 MW	7	N
18 October at 15:25	59 MW	2	Aqua
18 October at 14:27	103 MW	12	N21
18 October at 13:45	151 MW	16	N20
18 October at 13:23	101 MW	13	N
18 October at 12:47	86 MW	6	N21
18 October at 03:13	25 MW	1	Aqua
18 October at 01:56	29 MW	10	N21
18 October at 01:12	50 MW	16	N20
18 October at 00:52	35 MW	13	N
17 October at 20:56	21 MW	2	Terra
17 October at 14:04	146 MW	6	N20
17 October at 13:45	67 MW	8	N
17 October at 13:06	44 MW	4	N21
17 October at 08:44	28 MW	2	Terra

8 other fires near Mashonaland occidental (ZW)

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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