Fire near Méridionale (ZM)

15.58°S, 26.68°E · first detected on 20 October at 12:53

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 20 October at 12:53 to 22 October at 14:10, that is 2 days, through 67 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 1,108 ha.

Detected extent: 1,108 ha
Cumulative power: 2,482 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 157 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 67
Estimated emissions: 2.2 kt of carbon; Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 20 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 5 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 15:43	27 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 15:23	19 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 15:19	43 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 15:13	453 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 14:43	20 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 14:33	20 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 14:23	160 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 14:19	441 MW	3	Met10
22 October at 14:19	377 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 14:13	21 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 14:10	38 MW	2	N20
22 October at 14:03	101 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 13:53	225 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 13:49	211 MW	6	N
22 October at 13:49	411 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 13:49	406 MW	3	Met10
22 October at 13:43	452 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 13:34	266 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 13:34	317 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 13:33	204 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 13:23	28 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 13:19	433 MW	3	Met10
22 October at 13:19	551 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 13:15	568 MW	10	N21
22 October at 13:13	695 MW	9	Met12
22 October at 13:04	479 MW	3	Met10
22 October at 13:04	844 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 13:03	506 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 12:53	112 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 12:49	73 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 12:43	100 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 12:34	75 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 12:33	127 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 12:23	110 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 12:19	80 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 12:13	98 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 12:04	80 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 12:03	101 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 11:53	101 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 11:49	84 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 11:43	100 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 11:34	215 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 11:34	240 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 11:33	128 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 11:23	76 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 11:19	78 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 11:19	102 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 11:13	85 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 11:04	74 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 11:04	172 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 11:03	89 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 10:53	68 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 10:49	70 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 10:49	79 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 10:43	69 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 10:34	194 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 10:34	100 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 10:33	106 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 10:23	124 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 10:19	185 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 10:19	153 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 10:13	86 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 10:04	391 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 10:04	338 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 10:03	224 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 09:53	841 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 09:49	1,109 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 09:49	1,319 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 09:43	229 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 09:34	284 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 09:34	509 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 09:33	345 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 09:23	569 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 09:19	449 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 09:19	339 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 09:13	260 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 09:04	55 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 09:03	87 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 16:13	10 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 00:59	4 MW	1	N21
21 October at 00:03	14 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 22:03	176 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 18:13	10 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 16:40	179 MW	4	Aqua
20 October at 16:03	24 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 15:33	13 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 15:19	47 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 15:04	524 MW	4	Met10
20 October at 15:04	412 MW	3	Met9
20 October at 15:03	145 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 14:53	121 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 14:49	222 MW	3	Met9
20 October at 14:49	186 MW	10	N20
20 October at 14:49	203 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 14:43	105 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 14:34	324 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 14:34	834 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 14:33	1,216 MW	10	Met12
20 October at 14:27	1,002 MW	18	N
20 October at 14:23	1,154 MW	6	Met12
20 October at 14:19	618 MW	5	Met10
20 October at 14:19	883 MW	5	Met9
20 October at 14:13	283 MW	6	Met12
20 October at 14:04	331 MW	3	Met9
20 October at 14:04	259 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 14:03	251 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 13:53	212 MW	5	Met12
20 October at 13:50	113 MW	4	N21
20 October at 13:49	175 MW	3	Met9
20 October at 13:43	151 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 13:34	452 MW	3	Met9
20 October at 13:34	401 MW	3	Met10
20 October at 13:33	255 MW	5	Met12
20 October at 13:23	208 MW	6	Met12
20 October at 13:19	237 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 13:19	157 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 13:13	201 MW	5	Met12
20 October at 13:08	134 MW	6	N20
20 October at 13:03	20 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 12:53	21 MW	1	Met12

8 other fires near Méridionale (ZM)

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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