Fire near Tamatave (MG)

18.45°S, 48.90°E · first detected on 20 October at 12:45

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 20 October at 12:45 to 22 October at 14:36, that is 2 days, through 89 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 1,918 ha.

Detected extent: 1,918 ha
Cumulative power: 1,222 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 58 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 89
Estimated emissions: 1.6 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 09:22	62 MW	4	Met12
23 October at 09:03	35 MW	1	Met9
23 October at 08:48	43 MW	1	Met9
23 October at 08:42	56 MW	4	Met12
23 October at 08:33	72 MW	2	Met9
23 October at 08:22	39 MW	3	Met12
23 October at 08:18	65 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 16:19	31 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 16:04	54 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 15:52	31 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 15:42	106 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 15:34	241 MW	7	Met9
22 October at 15:32	47 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 15:22	100 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 15:19	107 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 15:04	51 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 14:36	359 MW	22	Aqua
22 October at 14:19	47 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 14:12	99 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 14:04	34 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 14:02	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 13:52	121 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 13:49	165 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 13:42	73 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 13:34	51 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 13:32	144 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 13:13	1,115 MW	70	N21
22 October at 13:12	106 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 13:04	139 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 13:02	212 MW	9	Met12
22 October at 12:52	146 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 12:42	140 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 12:34	77 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 12:32	192 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 12:28	2,708 MW	225	N20
22 October at 12:22	53 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 12:19	181 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 12:12	207 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 12:09	2,409 MW	147	N
22 October at 12:04	1,003 MW	10	Met9
22 October at 12:02	234 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 11:52	289 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 11:49	1,134 MW	10	Met9
22 October at 11:42	183 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 11:34	527 MW	7	Met9
22 October at 11:32	2,146 MW	98	N21
22 October at 11:32	440 MW	9	Met12
22 October at 11:22	199 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 11:19	234 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 11:12	297 MW	10	Met12
22 October at 11:04	385 MW	5	Met9
22 October at 11:02	221 MW	12	Met12
22 October at 10:52	247 MW	12	Met12
22 October at 10:49	240 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 10:42	75 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 10:34	317 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 10:32	226 MW	9	Met12
22 October at 10:22	47 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 10:18	159 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 10:12	55 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 10:03	150 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 10:02	141 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 09:52	43 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 09:32	79 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 09:22	13 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 09:12	26 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 09:02	56 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 08:52	58 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 08:48	36 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 08:42	133 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 07:32	23 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 17:04	26 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 17:02	33 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 16:52	14 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 16:04	80 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 15:42	12 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 15:34	18 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 15:32	12 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 15:22	71 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 15:19	21 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 15:12	72 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 15:04	95 MW	3	Met9
21 October at 15:02	59 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 14:52	48 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 14:49	251 MW	8	Met9
21 October at 14:42	69 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 14:34	99 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 14:32	142 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 14:22	80 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 14:19	289 MW	11	Met9
21 October at 14:12	124 MW	6	Met12
21 October at 14:04	308 MW	7	Met9
21 October at 14:02	136 MW	8	Met12
21 October at 14:00	121 MW	2	Aqua
21 October at 13:52	159 MW	8	Met12
21 October at 13:49	208 MW	7	Met9
21 October at 13:42	164 MW	9	Met12
21 October at 13:34	234 MW	6	Met9
21 October at 13:32	237 MW	11	Met12
21 October at 13:22	125 MW	7	Met12
21 October at 13:19	226 MW	6	Met9
21 October at 13:12	137 MW	9	Met12
21 October at 13:04	447 MW	9	Met9
21 October at 13:02	290 MW	15	Met12
21 October at 12:52	602 MW	19	Met12
21 October at 12:49	826 MW	13	Met9
21 October at 12:45	844 MW	85	N20
21 October at 12:42	245 MW	11	Met12
21 October at 12:34	285 MW	6	Met9
21 October at 12:32	266 MW	13	Met12
21 October at 12:26	953 MW	91	N
21 October at 12:22	165 MW	11	Met12
21 October at 12:19	281 MW	8	Met9
21 October at 12:12	390 MW	15	Met12
21 October at 12:04	723 MW	12	Met9
21 October at 12:02	307 MW	12	Met12
21 October at 11:52	184 MW	8	Met12
21 October at 11:49	956 MW	66	N21
21 October at 11:49	247 MW	6	Met9
21 October at 11:42	104 MW	7	Met12
21 October at 11:34	219 MW	6	Met9
21 October at 11:32	74 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 11:22	467 MW	17	Met12
21 October at 11:19	549 MW	8	Met9
21 October at 11:12	129 MW	9	Met12
21 October at 11:04	58 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 11:02	25 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 10:52	12 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 10:42	12 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 10:32	53 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 10:12	36 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 09:48	50 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 13:06	38 MW	6	N20
20 October at 13:02	17 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 12:45	36 MW	5	N
20 October at 12:12	14 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 12:09	7 MW	1	N21
20 October at 11:32	12 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 11:12	32 MW	2	Met12

8 other fires near Tamatave (MG)

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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