Fire near Njombe (TZ)

9.71°S, 34.31°E · first detected on 20 October at 09:33

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 20 October at 09:33 to 23 October at 01:16, that is 3 days, through 358 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 2,394 ha.

Detected extent: 2,394 ha
Cumulative power: 2,402 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 52 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 358
Estimated emissions: 7.5 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
23 October at 08:53	22 MW	1	Met12
23 October at 06:03	13 MW	1	Met12
23 October at 05:43	44 MW	2	Met12
23 October at 05:33	33 MW	2	Met12
23 October at 03:05	13 MW	1	Aqua
23 October at 01:16	101 MW	38	N20
23 October at 00:59	97 MW	26	N
23 October at 00:20	100 MW	21	N21
22 October at 20:56	70 MW	2	Terra
22 October at 14:12	143 MW	14	N20
22 October at 14:03	12 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 13:51	124 MW	17	N
22 October at 13:15	143 MW	25	N21
22 October at 12:30	39 MW	5	N20
22 October at 12:13	13 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 12:03	10 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 11:53	13 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 11:43	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 01:35	80 MW	27	N20
22 October at 01:16	89 MW	36	N
22 October at 00:40	102 MW	23	N21
21 October at 20:17	140 MW	11	Terra
21 October at 16:53	14 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 16:43	14 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 15:43	15 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 15:40	62 MW	2	Aqua
21 October at 15:33	28 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 15:23	40 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 15:13	34 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 15:03	18 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 14:43	34 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 14:23	21 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 14:10	189 MW	18	N
21 October at 13:34	94 MW	6	N21
21 October at 13:33	54 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 12:53	23 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 12:49	100 MW	8	N20
21 October at 11:13	31 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 11:03	18 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 10:53	15 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 08:01	20 MW	1	Terra
21 October at 06:13	14 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 05:13	42 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 04:43	10 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 04:33	11 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 03:43	21 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 03:33	12 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 03:23	22 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 03:13	13 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 03:03	27 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 02:53	18 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 02:43	17 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 02:33	30 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 02:23	16 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 02:13	38 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 02:03	68 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 01:54	70 MW	14	N20
21 October at 01:33	65 MW	20	N
21 October at 01:33	41 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 01:23	37 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 01:13	47 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 01:03	48 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 00:59	104 MW	17	N21
21 October at 00:53	47 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 00:43	46 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 00:33	38 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 00:23	39 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 00:14	64 MW	8	N20
21 October at 00:13	65 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 00:03	93 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 23:53	67 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 23:43	59 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 23:33	74 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 23:23	77 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 23:13	68 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 23:03	79 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 22:53	118 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 22:43	115 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 22:33	91 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 22:23	62 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 22:13	80 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 22:03	58 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 21:53	43 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 21:43	42 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 21:33	66 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 21:23	35 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 21:13	41 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 21:03	52 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 20:53	31 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 20:43	14 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 20:33	39 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 20:23	22 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 20:13	38 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 20:03	17 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 16:13	42 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 16:03	70 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 15:53	73 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 15:43	71 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 15:33	86 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 15:23	85 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 15:13	112 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 15:03	92 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 14:53	81 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 14:43	96 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 14:33	144 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 14:23	101 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 14:13	89 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 14:03	87 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 13:53	96 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 13:51	118 MW	4	N21
20 October at 13:43	132 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 13:33	114 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 13:23	84 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 13:13	114 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 13:08	166 MW	6	N20
20 October at 13:03	110 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 12:53	89 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 12:47	123 MW	9	N
20 October at 12:43	99 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 12:33	106 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 12:23	65 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 12:13	46 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 12:03	56 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 11:53	25 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 11:43	33 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 11:33	31 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 11:23	34 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 11:13	21 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 11:03	16 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 10:53	10 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 09:33	11 MW	1	Met12

8 other fires near Njombe (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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