Fire near Méridionale (ZM)

16.46°S, 25.29°E · first detected on 18 October at 13:25

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 18 October at 13:25 to 23 October at 02:03, that is 5 days, through 146 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 2,306 ha.

Detected extent: 2,306 ha
Cumulative power: 1,588 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 57 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 146
Estimated emissions: 2.7 kt of carbon; Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 18 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 7 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 04:52	12 MW	1	Met12
23 October at 02:03	2 MW	2	N21
23 October at 01:20	3 MW	3	N20
22 October at 17:04	30 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 17:02	10 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 16:52	129 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 16:49	32 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 16:49	37 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 16:34	30 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 16:34	32 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 16:19	79 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 16:19	81 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 16:16	48 MW	3	Aqua
22 October at 16:12	71 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 16:04	36 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 16:02	37 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 15:49	53 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 15:34	85 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 15:32	50 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 15:22	15 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 14:49	99 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 14:10	45 MW	6	N20
22 October at 13:49	126 MW	7	N
22 October at 13:15	98 MW	12	N21
22 October at 13:02	106 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 12:49	62 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 12:42	36 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 12:32	52 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 12:22	160 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 12:19	133 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 12:19	62 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 12:12	12 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 12:04	64 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 12:04	118 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 12:02	32 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 11:52	19 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 11:49	114 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 11:49	57 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 11:34	198 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 11:34	267 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 11:32	40 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 11:19	159 MW	3	Met10
22 October at 11:19	112 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 11:04	241 MW	3	Met10
22 October at 11:04	221 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 11:02	75 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 10:52	232 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 10:49	586 MW	5	Met10
22 October at 10:49	465 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 10:42	250 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 10:34	653 MW	5	Met9
22 October at 10:34	730 MW	6	Met10
22 October at 10:32	485 MW	13	Met12
22 October at 10:22	273 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 10:19	473 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 10:19	498 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 10:12	447 MW	10	Met12
22 October at 10:04	811 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 10:04	813 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 10:02	640 MW	11	Met12
22 October at 09:52	393 MW	9	Met12
22 October at 09:49	310 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 09:42	133 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 09:34	182 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 09:32	95 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 09:22	271 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 09:19	274 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 09:12	327 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 09:04	276 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 09:04	183 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 09:02	377 MW	10	Met12
22 October at 08:52	85 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 08:42	91 MW	6	Terra
22 October at 08:42	26 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 08:32	14 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 07:02	35 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 06:52	12 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 06:18	29 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 06:03	28 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 05:52	14 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 05:49	45 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 05:48	62 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 05:22	43 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 05:19	27 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 05:12	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 03:42	33 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 03:02	13 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 02:52	18 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 02:42	12 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 02:34	24 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 02:22	17 MW	2	N21
22 October at 01:37	14 MW	10	N20
22 October at 01:18	11 MW	3	N
22 October at 00:42	13 MW	4	N21
21 October at 14:27	20 MW	3	N20
21 October at 14:12	11 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 14:08	51 MW	11	N
21 October at 14:02	31 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 13:52	28 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 13:32	42 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 13:32	113 MW	10	N21
21 October at 12:52	32 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 12:32	76 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 12:22	15 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 12:12	41 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 12:04	52 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 12:02	58 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 11:52	37 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 11:49	101 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 11:49	132 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 11:42	42 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 11:34	40 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 11:32	16 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 11:22	12 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 10:52	36 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 10:49	48 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 10:49	46 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 02:52	16 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 02:42	28 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 01:56	4 MW	3	N20
21 October at 01:37	2 MW	2	N
21 October at 01:02	28 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 00:59	39 MW	4	N21
20 October at 18:22	21 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 18:12	31 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 18:02	90 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 17:52	176 MW	5	Met12
20 October at 17:42	207 MW	7	Met12
20 October at 17:22	156 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 17:12	387 MW	6	Met12
20 October at 17:02	415 MW	8	Met12
20 October at 16:52	15 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 16:22	79 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 16:12	83 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 16:02	55 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 15:52	102 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 15:49	158 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 15:49	102 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 15:42	88 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 15:34	145 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 15:32	130 MW	5	Met12
20 October at 15:22	98 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 15:12	51 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 14:52	81 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 14:49	184 MW	8	N20
20 October at 14:42	53 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 14:27	252 MW	13	N
20 October at 14:22	167 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 14:12	194 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 14:02	170 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 13:49	23 MW	3	N21
20 October at 13:08	94 MW	3	N20
20 October at 13:02	191 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 12:52	26 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 12:42	93 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 12:04	46 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 12:02	47 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 11:52	16 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 11:32	14 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 02:16	1 MW	1	N20
20 October at 01:56	0 MW	1	N
19 October at 13:25	10 MW	2	N20
19 October at 01:37	2 MW	2	N21
18 October at 15:06	9 MW	1	N
18 October at 14:27	67 MW	5	N21
18 October at 13:45	143 MW	8	N20
18 October at 13:25	109 MW	8	N

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.

Follow live

The map shows active fires in 3D, with smoke plumes, forecast wind, drop zones and the live position of water bombers tracked by ADS-B, anywhere in the world.

Open the fire map

Take the data of this fire with you

A ready-to-use archive, paid once, no subscription. It contains:

the satellite detections of the fire
the contours of its progression
the drops and the aircraft tracks
the lightning around it
the severity of the burned area, when computed

From €20.00 excl. VAT, six formats to choose from, link valid for 30 days.

Download the data

Pro subscribers: included. €49 excl. VAT a month, no commitment. The public map stays free. Discover GISFire Pro

© 2026 SARO · Gistin. All rights reserved. The interface, its presentation and the contents of GISFire are protected; reproducing or imitating them requires written permission. The source data remain the property of their respective producers, see the credits.

Legal notice · Privacy policy · · GISFire v2.4.2