Fire near Sokoto (NG)

13.48°N, 6.45°E · first detected on 17 October at 14:55

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 17 October at 14:55 to 22 October at 03:54, that is 5 days, through 154 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 2,974 ha.

Detected extent: 2,974 ha
Cumulative power: 1,907 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 97 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 154
Estimated emissions: 5.5 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
22 October at 15:40	9 MW	3	N
22 October at 15:01	34 MW	4	N21
22 October at 12:52	37 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 12:37	44 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 12:22	41 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 03:54	1 MW	1	N21
22 October at 03:09	4 MW	4	N20
21 October at 23:26	11 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 22:02	7 MW	1	Terra
21 October at 16:38	354 MW	5	Met10
21 October at 16:36	19 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 16:23	102 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 16:08	107 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 15:57	65 MW	9	N
21 October at 15:53	119 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 15:38	67 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 15:23	147 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 15:23	136 MW	15	N21
21 October at 15:16	76 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 14:38	92 MW	23	N20
21 October at 14:36	14 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 14:17	70 MW	10	N
21 October at 14:06	31 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 13:46	24 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 13:36	95 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 13:26	35 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 13:06	175 MW	5	Met12
21 October at 12:56	116 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 12:06	100 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 11:37	115 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 11:36	47 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 11:26	56 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 11:22	60 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 11:16	122 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 11:07	301 MW	3	Met10
21 October at 11:06	105 MW	5	Met12
21 October at 10:46	10 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 18:26	65 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 18:16	75 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 18:06	24 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 17:56	30 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 17:46	39 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 17:36	21 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 17:26	95 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 17:16	53 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 17:06	36 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 16:56	20 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 16:46	74 MW	2	Aqua
20 October at 16:46	37 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 16:06	178 MW	5	Met12
20 October at 15:53	61 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 15:46	70 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 15:40	132 MW	8	N21
20 October at 15:38	176 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 15:36	64 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 15:23	66 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 15:16	42 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 15:08	142 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 15:08	146 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 15:06	57 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 14:55	114 MW	11	N20
20 October at 14:53	194 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 14:53	176 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 14:36	26 MW	3	N
20 October at 14:23	81 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 14:16	50 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 14:08	180 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 14:08	123 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 14:00	228 MW	11	N21
20 October at 13:56	135 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 13:52	317 MW	3	Met9
20 October at 13:52	308 MW	3	Met10
20 October at 13:26	22 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 13:22	210 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 13:22	114 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 13:16	56 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 12:37	63 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 03:47	1 MW	1	N20
20 October at 03:28	5 MW	3	N
19 October at 23:46	33 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 23:38	62 MW	2	Met10
19 October at 23:37	53 MW	1	Met9
19 October at 23:36	30 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 23:26	16 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 23:23	32 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 23:16	32 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 23:08	29 MW	1	Met9
19 October at 23:08	68 MW	2	Met10
19 October at 23:06	36 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 22:56	33 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 22:53	80 MW	2	Met10
19 October at 22:46	16 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 22:38	43 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 22:38	58 MW	1	Met9
19 October at 22:36	14 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 22:26	13 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 22:23	50 MW	2	Met10
19 October at 22:21	16 MW	1	Terra
19 October at 22:16	24 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 22:08	64 MW	1	Met9
19 October at 21:56	33 MW	3	Met12
19 October at 21:46	25 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 21:38	91 MW	3	Met10
19 October at 21:38	102 MW	2	Met9
19 October at 21:36	14 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 21:16	26 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 21:08	98 MW	2	Met9
19 October at 21:08	105 MW	3	Met10
19 October at 21:06	37 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 20:56	26 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 20:53	63 MW	2	Met10
19 October at 20:46	13 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 20:38	62 MW	1	Met9
19 October at 20:38	129 MW	3	Met10
19 October at 20:36	33 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 20:26	13 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 20:23	51 MW	1	Met9
19 October at 20:23	63 MW	2	Met10
19 October at 17:53	57 MW	1	Met9
19 October at 17:53	161 MW	4	Met10
19 October at 17:46	55 MW	1	Aqua
19 October at 17:38	59 MW	2	Met10
19 October at 17:36	35 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 17:26	15 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 17:08	357 MW	4	Met10
19 October at 17:06	163 MW	4	Met12
19 October at 16:53	255 MW	4	Met10
19 October at 16:46	106 MW	3	Met12
19 October at 16:38	159 MW	2	Met10
19 October at 16:36	133 MW	4	Met12
19 October at 16:26	66 MW	3	Met12
19 October at 16:23	133 MW	2	Met10
19 October at 16:16	99 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 16:06	25 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 15:56	26 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 15:38	612 MW	3	Met9
19 October at 15:38	70 MW	1	Met10
19 October at 15:36	190 MW	4	Met12
19 October at 15:26	320 MW	6	Met12
19 October at 15:16	8 MW	2	N20
19 October at 15:06	23 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 14:56	362 MW	7	Met12
19 October at 14:55	555 MW	28	N
19 October at 14:46	61 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 14:36	258 MW	6	Met12
19 October at 14:26	664 MW	8	Met12
19 October at 14:17	276 MW	14	N21
19 October at 14:16	261 MW	7	Met12
19 October at 14:06	474 MW	9	Met12
19 October at 13:36	15 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 12:36	21 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 12:16	51 MW	3	Met12
19 October at 12:06	24 MW	1	Met12
18 October at 15:33	5 MW	1	N20
18 October at 14:38	4 MW	1	N21
17 October at 15:33	25 MW	2	N
17 October at 14:55	10 MW	2	N21

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