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MZ · Mozambique · –

Namarrói fire, 16 September 2022 Namarrói

Out · last detection 19 Oct 2022, 10:48 UTC

The fire started on 16 September 2022 in Namarrói, Mozambique, and satellites saw it burning for 33 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 24,683 hectares from heat detections, spread across a single municipality.

It is the 35th largest in Zambézia since 2016 (of 564 with a page). Number 12 in Mozambique in 2022, of 206.

Compare with…

Suggestions: Gurué · 2017Alto Molocue · 2020Namarrói · 2018Namarrói · 2016

Burnt area
24,683ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
33days
16 Sept 2022 – 18 Oct 2022
Municipalities hit
1
districts
Started on
16 Sept
2022
Heat detections
2,111
in a single hotspot: 94 MW
Danger at start
19
Moderate · FWI index
Average daily power
700MW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 16 Sept18 Oct
19 Oct 2022

How it evolved, day by day

16 Sept 2022 · 26 MW · 4 19 Sept 2022 · 52 MW · 6 20 Sept 2022 · 551 MW · 40 21 Sept 2022 · 199 MW · 15 22 Sept 2022 · 556 MW · 35 23 Sept 2022 · 455 MW · 29 24 Sept 2022 · 759 MW · 42 25 Sept 2022 · 335 MW · 25 26 Sept 2022 · 223 MW · 21 27 Sept 2022 · 346 MW · 27 28 Sept 2022 · 643 MW · 71 29 Sept 2022 · 1,978 MW · 155 30 Sept 2022 · 1,293 MW · 176 1 Oct 2022 · 2,381 MW · 172 2 Oct 2022 · 497 MW · 66 3 Oct 2022 · 1,194 MW · 105 4 Oct 2022 · 2,398 MW · 273 5 Oct 2022 · 2,404 MW · 298 6 Oct 2022 · 1,613 MW · 131 7 Oct 2022 · 582 MW · 57 8 Oct 2022 · 752 MW · 58 9 Oct 2022 · 470 MW · 30 10 Oct 2022 · 744 MW · 96 11 Oct 2022 · 676 MW · 64 12 Oct 2022 · 226 MW · 11 13 Oct 2022 · 119 MW · 9 14 Oct 2022 · 193 MW · 19 15 Oct 2022 · 194 MW · 28 16 Oct 2022 · 66 MW · 13 17 Oct 2022 · 345 MW · 19 18 Oct 2022 · 112 MW · 12 19 Oct 2022 · 24 MW · 4
16 Sept 25 Sept 5 Oct 16 Oct

Fire radiative power detected each day, in megawatts, and number of hotspots. The magenta bar marks the peak day.

The weather it burned in

34°high
45km/h · peak gust
18%lowest humidity

It had gone one day without rain (1 mm or more) when it started.

This area had burned before

92% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 15,388 ha in 2016, 7,666 ha in 2017, 10,459 ha in 2018, 4,518 ha in 2019, 4,541 ha in 2020, 3,742 ha in 2021. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 22,715 ha that had burned before.

How big is it?

10 km
It burned the equivalent of 16% of the area of London (247 km² against 1,583 km²).

London boundary: geoBoundaries · Office for National Statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0).

This compares size, not location: both shapes are at the same scale, north up, centred on each other.

What happened to each town

  1. Namarrói where it started
    25,109 ha reached on 16 Sept
    8.2 %

Burnt area inside each municipality, from crossing the GWIS perimeter with administrative boundaries. The distance runs from the point marking the centre of each area to the nearest fire: staying a kilometre away does not mean it reached the houses.

People and buildings inside the perimeter

GHSL 2020
Built-up area66 ha
Residents≈ 8,900

Inside the perimeter there were about 66 hectares of built-up land and about 8,900 residents (GHSL 2020, satellite-based estimate).

This is an estimate on 100 m cells, made from satellite imagery and census data: it does not mean that homes burned or that anyone was harmed. The perimeter also contains land that never burned.

Source: Global Human Settlement Layer (GHS-BUILT-S and GHS-POP R2023A), European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC), © European Union, CC BY 4.0. Sum inside the perimeter computed by WorldFires. human-settlement.emergency.copernicus.eu

The weather day by day

ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at the fire location, the standard reference for past weather, and the Canadian Fire Weather Index (the same system Copernicus uses), computed by WorldFires from that data. Days after the fire run until the first rain.

Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Climate Change Service (ERA5)

Day High Min. humidity Peak gust Rain Danger (FWI)
16 Sept 28.2 °C 38 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 19
17 Sept 29.7 °C 30 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm High 23
18 Sept 30.8 °C 27 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm High 25
19 Sept 31.0 °C 31 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
20 Sept 32.2 °C 32 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
21 Sept 30.7 °C 27 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm High 28
22 Sept 31.2 °C 28 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
23 Sept 31.4 °C 29 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
24 Sept 30.9 °C 31 % 34 km/h 0.1 mm High 30
25 Sept 31.1 °C 30 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm High 28
26 Sept 31.5 °C 31 % 34 km/h 0.1 mm High 30
27 Sept 32.7 °C 26 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
28 Sept 30.0 °C 31 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm High 35
29 Sept 29.5 °C 37 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
30 Sept 32.1 °C 25 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm High 31
1 Oct 32.0 °C 21 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
2 Oct 32.6 °C 28 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
3 Oct 32.9 °C 28 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
4 Oct 34.4 °C 19 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm High 38
5 Oct 34.0 °C 18 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
6 Oct 34.3 °C 21 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
7 Oct 33.9 °C 22 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
8 Oct 33.2 °C 26 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
9 Oct 32.6 °C 23 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
10 Oct 32.9 °C 23 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
11 Oct 32.0 °C 24 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
12 Oct 32.5 °C 22 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
13 Oct 33.6 °C 23 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
14 Oct 34.2 °C 18 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 38
15 Oct 33.4 °C 21 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
16 Oct 33.2 °C 21 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
17 Oct 32.9 °C 22 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
18 Oct 31.2 °C 34 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
19 Oct after 30.3 °C 39 % 33 km/h 0.2 mm High 32
20 Oct after 31.2 °C 33 % 27 km/h 0.3 mm High 32
21 Oct after 34.2 °C 20 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
22 Oct after 33.9 °C 23 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
23 Oct after 34.1 °C 23 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 38
24 Oct after 34.5 °C 25 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm High 38
25 Oct after 33.5 °C 30 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
26 Oct after 34.6 °C 25 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
27 Oct after 35.6 °C 19 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
28 Oct after 35.8 °C 21 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42

Its twins: fires that started in the same weather

It started with an FWI of 19.1, a minimum humidity of 38% and 1 day without rain. Fires in the area that started in weather like this since 2016: 52.

FWI at the start 19.1
Minimum humidity 38 %
Days without rain 1
this fire chosen twins rest of the area
Almost identicalSimilar

Outlines of the closest twins

Gurué fire, September 2017
11,909 ha 25 days FWI 18.8 Min. humidity 40 % 44 km away, in 2017

First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: 1.0 mm on 2 Oct.

See its page Compare with this fire

What happened to them

16 days
median duration
4,848 ha
median area
19 %
went past 10,000 ha
2.6 mm
rain at the end (median; 37 of 52 had it)

It was 5.1 times larger than the median of its twins and lasted 33 days, against 16 days.

Only 4 of its 52 twins burned more. The weather on the first day does not explain everything: the wind in the following days, the fuel and the firefighting also count. In 15 of 52, not even 1 mm fell in the ten days after the end: they went out without rain. In the rest, the first rainy day brought a median of 2.6 mm.

This is a bank of analogues: it shows what usually happens, not what will happen. With fewer than 15 twins we give no figures. How we calculate it

How it ended

—first rain
—no rain in ten days
45km/h · max. gust

It was considered over on 18 Oct, and not even 1 mm fell in the following ten days: it went out without rain. Twins with rain when they ended: 37 of 52, with a median of 2.6 mm.

Weather on this page: Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Climate Change Service (ERA5)

How a twin is chosen

  • Same area: fires that have already ended, less than 250 km from this one, since 2016.
  • Same start: we compare the FWI on the first day, the minimum humidity that day and the run of days without rain before it. The slider sets how much they may differ.
  • Only pages with final weather data (ERA5 reanalysis) calculated in the same way as this fire’s; agricultural and grass burns and pages with data under review are left out.
  • Fires burning at the same time as this one (a week before or after) are left out: they share the same spell of weather and do not count as a precedent.
  • They are sorted by similarity, and the outlines of the first five are drawn.

How we calculate it

Before and after, from space

Drag the line to compare the same ground before the fire and after it.

Before · 9 Sept 2022
After · 25 Oct 2022

If the day is cloudy, change the date: each satellite passes once a day. In false colour the burnt ground looks brown or red.

The smoke

CAMS · Copernicus

On 6 October 2022 the air beside the fire reached 190 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 59: 3.9 times the WHO daily guideline (15).

PM2.5 peak190 µg/m³
Days over the guideline17 days
PM10271 µg/m³
Optical depth1.00
14 Sept22 Sept30 Sept8 Oct16 Oct
Good Fair Moderate Poor Very poor Extremely poor

Particles from the Copernicus CAMS model at the centre of the perimeter; these are not measurements in each town. The pale bar is the worst hour, the solid one the daily average.

Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS)

Detections table · 2,111Every satellite heat detection, one by one, with time, satellite, power and coordinates.
⬇ Download CSV Times in UTC. Each detection is a 375 m pixel: a large fire yields hundreds per pass.
Date and timeSatelliteFRP (MW)LatLon

Other fires nearby

All fires in Mozambique

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Namarrói fire last?
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 16 September 2022 to 18 October 2022 (33 days). The perimeter dates it from 21 September 2022 to 11 October 2022.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 24,683 hectares (246.8 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire only entered Namarrói (25,109 ha, 8.2 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 34.4 °C, humidity dropped to 18 % and gusts hit 45 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 45, class Very high.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Mozambique (geoBoundaries). It is not an official report.
How did the fires that started in similar weather in this area end?
Fires less than 250 km away that started since 2016 with a similar FWI, humidity and dry spell: 52. Their median duration was 16 days and their median area 4,848 ha; 19 % went past 10,000 ha. Only 4 of its 52 twins burned more. The weather on the first day does not explain everything: the wind in the following days, the fuel and the firefighting also count. In 15 of 52, not even 1 mm fell in the ten days after the end: they went out without rain. In the rest, the first rainy day brought a median of 2.6 mm.

Where to verify it

A satellite detection is not an official report. Final figures and the fire’s status are published by each country’s emergency service.

Satellite cross-check

History of this page · 2 Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.
  1. Last day with fire: 11 October 2022 → 18 October 2022.
  2. Start date: 21 September 2022 → 16 September 2022.

RSS Changes to this page With cross-checks and a citable version

Does something look wrong on this page?

This page is built from satellite data and official records, and it sometimes gets things wrong: the wrong dates, the wrong town, two fires merged into one, or something that was not a wildfire at all. If you know this fire first-hand (you live nearby, saw it, fought it or reported on it), tell us what really happened and we will check it.

Report an error
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How we know this
  • Perimeter: GWIS (Copernicus), rebuilt from heat detections rather than mapped on imagery; 3 polygons grouped in this page.
  • Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 21 September 2022 to 11 October 2022. 2,111 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
  • We have not matched this page with any official record.
  • Weather: Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis at the fire location, in cells of about 25 km.
  • Built-up area and population come from the JRC Global Human Settlement Layer (epoch 2020, 100 m cells), summed inside the perimeter: an estimate of what was there, not a damage count.

How we build fire pages: methodology

Where this data comes from

The perimeter comes from the Copernicus Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS), which rebuilds it from MODIS and VIIRS heat detections and publishes it under CC BY 4.0. It is not measured on imagery as in Europe, so it is an estimate. Heat detections come from the VIIRS sensors aboard Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20, distributed by NASA FIRMS at 375 m resolution. Municipal boundaries come from geoBoundaries ADM2 (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Intergovernmental Organisations (CC BY 3.0 IGO)). The area per municipality is computed by WorldFires by crossing the perimeter with those boundaries, so it may differ from each country’s official figure.