Fire near Hhohho (SZ)

26.16°S, 31.05°E · first detected on 18 October at 01:16

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 18 October at 01:16 to 22 October at 16:14, that is 5 days, through 108 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 2,320 ha.

Detected extent: 2,320 ha
Cumulative power: 2,447 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 454 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 108
Estimated emissions: 1.2 kt of carbon; Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 17 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 00:25	4 MW	4	N21
22 October at 16:14	21 MW	1	Aqua
22 October at 16:12	15 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 15:02	16 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 14:08	49 MW	7	N20
22 October at 13:49	31 MW	5	N
22 October at 13:10	19 MW	2	N21
22 October at 10:42	14 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 09:33	59 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 09:03	54 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 08:48	55 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 01:39	17 MW	11	N20
22 October at 01:20	13 MW	10	N
22 October at 00:44	15 MW	9	N21
21 October at 21:03	23 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 20:48	27 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 20:33	25 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 20:32	12 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 20:18	31 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 20:12	28 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 20:11	118 MW	3	Terra
21 October at 20:03	68 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 20:03	26 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 20:02	31 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 19:52	26 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 19:48	64 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 19:42	12 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 19:33	30 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 19:32	15 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 19:22	23 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 19:18	69 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 19:12	25 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 19:03	26 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 18:52	41 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 18:48	69 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 18:42	15 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 18:34	121 MW	3	Met9
21 October at 18:33	24 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 18:22	58 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 18:18	110 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 18:18	25 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 18:12	50 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 18:03	37 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 18:03	123 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 18:02	59 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 17:52	55 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 17:48	177 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 17:48	29 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 17:42	52 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 17:33	33 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 17:33	101 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 17:32	55 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 17:22	63 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 17:18	28 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 17:18	74 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 17:12	29 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 17:03	51 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 17:02	28 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 16:52	22 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 16:48	107 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 16:48	40 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 16:42	93 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 16:33	369 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 16:33	68 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 16:32	196 MW	5	Met12
21 October at 16:22	371 MW	6	Met12
21 October at 16:18	89 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 16:18	413 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 16:12	607 MW	8	Met12
21 October at 16:03	869 MW	3	Met10
21 October at 16:03	1,135 MW	5	Met9
21 October at 16:02	624 MW	7	Met12
21 October at 15:52	957 MW	7	Met12
21 October at 15:48	1,366 MW	4	Met10
21 October at 15:48	849 MW	3	Met9
21 October at 15:42	1,973 MW	9	Met12
21 October at 15:38	1,631 MW	9	Aqua
21 October at 15:33	947 MW	4	Met10
21 October at 15:33	910 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 15:32	419 MW	6	Met12
21 October at 15:22	711 MW	8	Met12
21 October at 15:18	282 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 15:18	691 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 15:12	323 MW	7	Met12
21 October at 15:03	158 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 15:02	47 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 14:06	79 MW	13	N
21 October at 13:28	50 MW	8	N21
21 October at 12:52	64 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 12:45	260 MW	11	N20
21 October at 12:42	136 MW	6	Met12
21 October at 12:32	13 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 12:22	16 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 12:02	70 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 11:32	53 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 11:22	61 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 11:12	72 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 11:03	139 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 11:02	61 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 10:52	91 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 10:48	63 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 10:42	103 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 10:32	72 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 10:22	81 MW	5	Met12
21 October at 09:33	125 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 09:32	107 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 09:22	89 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 09:12	142 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 09:03	291 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 09:02	323 MW	7	Met12
21 October at 08:52	161 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 08:42	51 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 08:32	39 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 08:22	127 MW	5	Met12
21 October at 08:12	144 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 08:08	79 MW	3	Terra
21 October at 08:02	56 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 07:52	33 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 07:42	38 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 07:32	61 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 07:22	41 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 07:12	24 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 07:02	21 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 05:12	11 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 03:32	16 MW	1	Aqua
21 October at 02:01	3 MW	2	N20
21 October at 01:39	5 MW	4	N
21 October at 01:01	1 MW	1	N21
20 October at 01:58	1 MW	1	N
20 October at 01:22	2 MW	1	N21
19 October at 14:06	22 MW	1	N21
18 October at 13:42	6 MW	1	N20
18 October at 13:21	8 MW	1	N
18 October at 02:01	2 MW	1	N21
18 October at 01:16	1 MW	2	N20

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