Fire near Mbeya (TZ)
7.88°S, 32.65°E · first detected on 23 September at 12:56
What the satellites measured
This fire was tracked from 23 September at 12:56 to 22 October at 13:51, that is 29 days, through 696 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 12,211 ha.
- Detected extent
- 12,211 ha
- Cumulative power
- 5,214 MW
- Peak power, one pixel
- 77 MW
- VIIRS and MODIS detections
- 696
- Estimated emissions
- 1.5 kt of carbon
- Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 5 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 30 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 15:23 | 10 MW | 1 | Met12 |
| 22 October at 13:51 | 59 MW | 6 | N |
| 22 October at 13:17 | 27 MW | 4 | N21 |
| 22 October at 09:53 | 14 MW | 1 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 15:33 | 11 MW | 1 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 14:10 | 8 MW | 2 | N |
| 21 October at 13:34 | 50 MW | 6 | N21 |
| 21 October at 12:49 | 29 MW | 7 | N20 |
| 21 October at 01:54 | 6 MW | 1 | N20 |
| 20 October at 15:13 | 14 MW | 1 | Met12 |
| 20 October at 14:53 | 11 MW | 1 | Met12 |
| 20 October at 14:03 | 38 MW | 2 | Met12 |
| 20 October at 13:51 | 41 MW | 9 | N21 |
| 20 October at 13:33 | 26 MW | 2 | Met12 |
| 20 October at 13:10 | 17 MW | 1 | N20 |
| 20 October at 12:49 | 7 MW | 1 | N |
| 19 October at 14:12 | 6 MW | 1 | N21 |
| 19 October at 13:28 | 93 MW | 18 | N20 |
| 19 October at 13:08 | 23 MW | 6 | N |
| 19 October at 12:32 | 15 MW | 2 | N21 |
| 19 October at 08:22 | 7 MW | 1 | Terra |
| 18 October at 13:47 | 21 MW | 5 | N20 |
| 18 October at 13:26 | 9 MW | 2 | N |
| 18 October at 01:09 | 2 MW | 2 | N20 |
| 16 October at 14:04 | 31 MW | 3 | N |
| 16 October at 13:28 | 81 MW | 8 | N21 |
| 16 October at 12:43 | 51 MW | 9 | N20 |
| 15 October at 14:23 | 9 MW | 2 | N |
| 15 October at 13:47 | 69 MW | 10 | N21 |
| 15 October at 13:02 | 37 MW | 9 | N20 |
| 15 October at 12:43 | 21 MW | 4 | N |
| 14 October at 14:06 | 37 MW | 3 | N21 |
| 14 October at 13:21 | 8 MW | 3 | N20 |
| 14 October at 13:02 | 29 MW | 4 | N |
| 14 October at 12:26 | 51 MW | 3 | N21 |
| 14 October at 08:25 | 20 MW | 3 | Terra |
| 14 October at 02:05 | 1 MW | 1 | N |
| 14 October at 01:29 | 4 MW | 4 | N21 |
| 14 October at 00:44 | 1 MW | 1 | N20 |
| 13 October at 15:31 | 8 MW | 1 | Aqua |
| 13 October at 13:40 | 207 MW | 24 | N20 |
| 12 October at 13:02 | 14 MW | 2 | N21 |
| 12 October at 01:22 | 1 MW | 1 | N20 |
| 12 October at 01:02 | 1 MW | 2 | N |
| 12 October at 00:27 | 1 MW | 1 | N21 |
| 11 October at 14:17 | 23 MW | 4 | N20 |
| 11 October at 13:57 | 35 MW | 4 | N |
| 11 October at 13:21 | 129 MW | 12 | N21 |
| 11 October at 12:38 | 4 MW | 1 | N20 |
| 11 October at 01:41 | 1 MW | 2 | N20 |
| 11 October at 01:22 | 2 MW | 4 | N |
| 11 October at 00:44 | 2 MW | 2 | N21 |
| 10 October at 14:17 | 28 MW | 4 | N |
| 10 October at 13:40 | 69 MW | 8 | N21 |
| 10 October at 01:03 | 1 MW | 1 | N21 |
| 9 October at 20:38 | 8 MW | 1 | Terra |
| 9 October at 13:58 | 102 MW | 19 | N21 |
| 9 October at 13:15 | 109 MW | 12 | N20 |
| 9 October at 12:56 | 108 MW | 29 | N |
| 9 October at 08:25 | 13 MW | 2 | Terra |
| 9 October at 01:22 | 1 MW | 1 | N21 |
| 8 October at 13:34 | 6 MW | 2 | N20 |
| 8 October at 12:38 | 39 MW | 4 | N21 |
| 7 October at 13:51 | 4 MW | 1 | N20 |
| 7 October at 13:34 | 3 MW | 1 | N |
| 7 October at 01:16 | 0 MW | 1 | N20 |
| 6 October at 14:12 | 23 MW | 3 | N20 |
| 6 October at 13:51 | 206 MW | 27 | N |
| 6 October at 13:17 | 116 MW | 11 | N21 |
| 6 October at 12:32 | 47 MW | 3 | N20 |
| 6 October at 08:08 | 15 MW | 1 | Terra |
| 6 October at 01:33 | 1 MW | 1 | N20 |
| 6 October at 01:16 | 2 MW | 3 | N |
| 6 October at 00:37 | 2 MW | 1 | N21 |
| 5 October at 14:10 | 65 MW | 10 | N |
| 5 October at 13:34 | 247 MW | 13 | N21 |
| 5 October at 12:49 | 193 MW | 11 | N20 |
| 5 October at 01:33 | 0 MW | 1 | N |
| 5 October at 00:59 | 1 MW | 1 | N21 |
| 4 October at 13:51 | 77 MW | 15 | N21 |
| 4 October at 13:08 | 111 MW | 11 | N20 |
| 4 October at 12:49 | 47 MW | 10 | N |
| 4 October at 08:27 | 7 MW | 1 | Terra |
| 4 October at 01:16 | 1 MW | 1 | N21 |
| 4 October at 00:31 | 1 MW | 1 | N20 |
| 3 October at 14:12 | 122 MW | 6 | N21 |
| 3 October at 13:28 | 55 MW | 8 | N20 |
| 3 October at 13:08 | 51 MW | 2 | N |
| 3 October at 12:32 | 40 MW | 3 | N21 |
| 3 October at 01:35 | 5 MW | 3 | N21 |
| 2 October at 13:47 | 61 MW | 8 | N20 |
| 2 October at 13:25 | 109 MW | 8 | N |
| 2 October at 12:49 | 109 MW | 7 | N21 |
| 1 October at 14:05 | 54 MW | 9 | N20 |
| 1 October at 13:47 | 97 MW | 14 | N |
| 1 October at 13:08 | 38 MW | 5 | N21 |
| 1 October at 08:08 | 10 MW | 1 | Terra |
| 1 October at 01:29 | 1 MW | 1 | N20 |
| 1 October at 01:09 | 1 MW | 1 | N |
| 1 October at 00:31 | 3 MW | 4 | N21 |
| 30 September at 14:04 | 69 MW | 13 | N |
| 30 September at 13:28 | 193 MW | 26 | N21 |
| 30 September at 12:43 | 38 MW | 8 | N20 |
| 30 September at 00:52 | 1 MW | 1 | N21 |
| 29 September at 14:23 | 7 MW | 2 | N |
| 29 September at 13:47 | 229 MW | 20 | N21 |
| 29 September at 13:02 | 118 MW | 23 | N20 |
| 29 September at 12:42 | 27 MW | 8 | N |
| 29 September at 08:27 | 28 MW | 3 | Terra |
| 29 September at 02:05 | 2 MW | 2 | N20 |
| 29 September at 01:46 | 3 MW | 3 | N |
| 29 September at 01:09 | 6 MW | 8 | N21 |
| 28 September at 14:06 | 86 MW | 8 | N21 |
| 28 September at 13:21 | 183 MW | 18 | N20 |
| 28 September at 12:26 | 81 MW | 5 | N21 |
| 28 September at 01:29 | 2 MW | 2 | N21 |
| 27 September at 13:40 | 118 MW | 14 | N20 |
| 27 September at 13:19 | 30 MW | 5 | N |
| 27 September at 12:43 | 96 MW | 19 | N21 |
| 27 September at 01:48 | 1 MW | 1 | N21 |
| 27 September at 01:03 | 2 MW | 3 | N20 |
| 27 September at 00:44 | 1 MW | 1 | N |
| 26 September at 13:57 | 129 MW | 13 | N20 |
| 26 September at 13:40 | 108 MW | 12 | N |
| 26 September at 13:02 | 201 MW | 16 | N21 |
| 26 September at 01:22 | 1 MW | 1 | N20 |
| 25 September at 15:38 | 8 MW | 1 | Aqua |
| 25 September at 13:57 | 10 MW | 2 | N |
| 25 September at 13:21 | 29 MW | 7 | N21 |
| 25 September at 12:38 | 27 MW | 3 | N20 |
| 25 September at 01:39 | 2 MW | 1 | N20 |
| 25 September at 01:22 | 1 MW | 1 | N |
| 24 September at 14:17 | 20 MW | 3 | N |
| 24 September at 13:40 | 123 MW | 11 | N21 |
| 24 September at 12:56 | 139 MW | 15 | N20 |
| 24 September at 12:36 | 17 MW | 2 | N |
| 24 September at 01:58 | 1 MW | 1 | N20 |
| 24 September at 01:03 | 2 MW | 2 | N21 |
| 24 September at 00:20 | 2 MW | 1 | N20 |
| 23 September at 14:00 | 132 MW | 14 | N21 |
8 other fires near Mbeya (TZ)
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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