Tandahimba fire, November 2026
Lindi, Tandahimba, Newala
Dying down · last detection 12 Nov 2026, 11:19 UTC
Satellites first detected fire on 3 November 2026 in Tandahimba, Tanzania. It has been active for 10 days, with 276 heat detections and an area with fire of about 3,486 hectares rebuilt from them, spread across 3 municipalities.
GWIS near-real-time perimeter, from the layer that changed in August 2025: this fire is not compared with fires from earlier years, because since then the GWIS layer gives more and larger perimeters.
matches the official recordwith caveatssatellite onlymodel
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Burned area
satellite only
≈ 3,486ha
Estimated from hotspots: no perimeter has been published yet.
Source
NASA FIRMS · VIIRS
Date
3 Nov 2026 – 12 Nov 2026
+− cross-check
This is an estimate from the VIIRS pixels that saw fire. It will change when the perimeter is published.
Duration by satellite
satellite only
10days
From 3 Nov 2026 to today: still being detected.
Source
NASA FIRMS · VIIRS
Date
last detection: 12 Nov 2026, 11:19 UTC
+− cross-check
Satellites pass a few times a day and cloud or smoke can hide the fire: a lack of detections is not an official extinction. Each country’s emergency service declares a fire contained or out.
Start
satellite only
3 Nov 2026
First day with fire seen by the satellites or the perimeter.
Source
NASA FIRMS · VIIRS
Date
3 Nov 2026
+− cross-check
No official record is matched to this page, so the alert time and the cause are not known here.
Hotspots
satellite only
276
VIIRS detections at 375 m. Most intense hotspot: 172 MW.
Source
NASA FIRMS · VIIRS (NOAA-20)
Date
3 Nov 2026 – 12 Nov 2026
+− cross-check
There is no official record to compare with. Each hotspot is a pixel detected in one satellite pass, not a separate fire.
The worst day
satellite only
919MW
Total radiative power on 9 November 2026; hotspots that day: 52.
Source
NASA FIRMS · VIIRS (FRP)
Date
9 Nov 2026
+− cross-check
Fire radiative power (FRP) measures the energy the fire gives off when the satellite passes. Added up by day, it compares intensity, not area.
Danger at the start
model
12.9FWI · moderate
Fire Weather Index (Canadian system) computed by WorldFires for the day the fire started. Consecutive days without rain before: 0.
Source
WorldFires calculation (Canadian FWI system)
Date
3 Nov 2026, local noon
Model
ECMWF IFS 0,25° · Open-Meteo.com · provisional
+− cross-check
This is an index computed from weather model data, not a measurement of the fire nor an official warning. Danger warnings are issued by each country’s authority. Emergency number and official warnings ›
Weather during the fire
model
34.8°C · 42% RH
High of 34.8 °C and minimum humidity of 42% on 8 November 2026; gusts of 40 km/h on 12 November 2026.
Source
weather model at the fire’s grid cell
Date
3 Nov 2026 – 12 Nov 2026
Model
ECMWF IFS 0,25° · Open-Meteo.com · provisional
+− cross-check
These are model values for a cell of about 25 km, not from a weather station: they may differ from what was measured on the ground.
ⓘThis page’s change log has been kept since 12 November 2026: every night what it publishes is compared and the difference is logged. Anything earlier is reconstructed from each source’s date and marked as reconstructed.
Show
log
Page published (≈ 3,444 ha).
· reconstructedweather
Weather and FWI computed from the forecast (provisional until ERA5 arrives)
A version keeps the area, dates, name and official record; the area as it was logged (changes under 2% are not logged). The map, hotspots and weather always show today’s data.
Citation
A lede of about 60 words figures only, no adjectives
GWIS (Copernicus) has not yet published the perimeter of this fire. It rebuilds it from hotspots, which can take several days, and it does not always arrive. For now the area is the one rebuilt from heat detections (about 14 hectares per pixel). If the perimeter arrives, this page picks it up on its own and keeps the same address.
Is it still active?
No detections since 12 Nov 2026, 11:19 UTC. That usually means no flame is visible from space any more, although hotspots may remain. Satellites pass a few times a day and cloud or smoke can hide the fire: a lack of detections is not an official extinction. Each country’s emergency service declares a fire contained or out.
The wind is almost calm (2 km/h) and no sharp shifts are expected until Mon 16, 05:00.
ECMWF IFS 0.25° at the centre of the fire · computed 13 Nov 2026, 02:52 UTC
Sat 14, 07:00, local time
First useful rain: 2.4 mm in 6 h
Chance of rain up to 75 % in those hours. It can slow the fire at the surface, but that does not mean it will go out.
Checked, no warning:✓ no wind shifts of more than 60°✓ nights recover humidity (peaks of 94 % or more)
Hour by hour, local time
Tap the strip to see each hour
Mean windGusts➤ where it blows toRelative humidityNight (8 pm to 8 am)Rain (mm) · chance in %
Where is it blowing? The next 48 h
geoBoundaries/Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics / UN OCHA ROSA, OCHA ROSA (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Intergovernmental Organisations (CC BY 3.0 IGO))
At this hour
Places the fan reaches
Is it heading my way?
We compare your point with the fan for each hour. Your location never leaves your device.
or tap the map
This is not an official warning. It is a global model forecast with cells of about 25 km, at the centre of the fire: it cannot see valley winds or the winds the fire itself creates. The fan shows where the wind blows, not where the fire will spread. If in doubt, follow what the authorities say.
Forecast: ECMWF IFS 0.25° (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts), served by our own Open-Meteo instance; the chance of rain comes from the ECMWF ensemble. Variables: wind and gusts at 10 m, wind at 850 hPa, relative humidity and temperature at 2 m, rain. Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0).
Fire: VIIRS (NASA FIRMS); hotspots from the last 24 h: VIIRS from NASA FIRMS. Boundaries: geoBoundaries/Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics / UN OCHA ROSA, OCHA ROSA (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Intergovernmental Organisations (CC BY 3.0 IGO)).
How it is worked out: wind shift = a change of more than 60° in 6 h or less, with at least 15 km/h before and after; no overnight recovery = peak humidity between 8 pm and 8 am stays below 55 %; useful rain = 2 mm or more in 6 h. The fan opens 18° plus however much the wind varies within ±3 h and reaches 25 km beyond the edge of the fire: one model cell, not a rate of spread. Methodology ›
Where it burned
HOTSPOTS BY DAY
3 Nov12 Nov
Play back12 Nov 2026
How it evolved, day by day
3 Nov5 Nov7 Nov9 Nov11 Nov
Fire radiative power detected each day, in megawatts, and number of hotspots. The magenta bar marks the peak day.
The weather it burned in
35°high
40km/h · peak gust
40%lowest humidity
It had gone 0 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started.
Area with fire inside each municipality, rebuilt from heat detections (about 14 hectares per VIIRS pixel). An estimate until the official perimeter arrives. 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.
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) · forecast models, provisional until the ERA5 reanalysis arrives
Day
High
Min. humidity
Peak gust
Rain
Danger (FWI)
3 Nov
33.1 °C
50 %
36 km/h
0.7 mm
Moderate 13
4 Nov
33.9 °C
44 %
34 km/h
0.2 mm
Moderate 21
5 Nov
32.7 °C
44 %
36 km/h
0.6 mm
High 24
6 Nov
31.7 °C
49 %
35 km/h
3.8 mm
Moderate 21
7 Nov
33.7 °C
41 %
37 km/h
0.0 mm
Moderate 13
8 Nov
34.8 °C
42 %
34 km/h
0.1 mm
High 22
9 Nov
34.8 °C
40 %
33 km/h
0.0 mm
High 23
10 Nov
34.8 °C
45 %
38 km/h
2.8 mm
High 27
11 Nov
33.7 °C
47 %
30 km/h
5.3 mm
Moderate 14
12 Nov
33.4 °C
47 %
40 km/h
1.2 mm
Low 9
Before and after, from space
Drag the line to compare the same ground before the fire and after it.
↔
Before · 27 Oct 2026
After · 12 Nov 2026
Sentinel-2 did not pass over on that day. Try another date, or use false colour, which is daily.
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 31 October 2026 the air beside the fire reached 47 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 23: 1.5 times the WHO daily guideline (15).
PM2.5 peak47µg/m³
Days over the guideline2days
PM1050µg/m³
Optical depth0.79
WHO 15
31 Oct3 Nov6 Nov9 Nov
GoodFairModeratePoorVery poorExtremely 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· 276Every satellite heat detection, one by one, with time, satellite, power and coordinates.›
⬇ Download CSVTimes in UTC. Each detection is a 375 m pixel: a large fire yields hundreds per pass.
Date and time
Satellite
FRP (MW)
Lat
Lon
Frequently asked questions
How long did the Tandahimba fire last?
According to the heat detections seen by satellite, it burned from 3 November 2026 to 12 November 2026 (10 days between the first and the last detection). There is no perimeter yet to date it.
How much area did it burn?
There is no perimeter yet. Heat detections rebuild about 3,486 hectares with fire (34.9 km²), a rough figure; GWIS will give its own when it publishes the perimeter, which can take several days.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 3 municipalities: Lindi (2,562 ha, 0.4 %); Tandahimba (826 ha, 0.4 %); Newala (98 ha, 0.0 %).
Is the Tandahimba fire still active?
No fire detections since 12 Nov 2026, 11:19 UTC. A lack of detections is not an official extinction.
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 34.8 °C, humidity dropped to 40 % and gusts hit 40 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 27, class High.
What weather is expected at the fire over the next 72 hours?
The wind is almost calm (2 km/h) and no sharp shifts are expected until Mon 16, 05:00. First useful rain: 2.4 mm in 6 h (Sat 14, 07:00). Times are local time at the fire. ECMWF IFS forecast (Open-Meteo) computed 13 Nov 2026, 02:52 UTC; this is not an official warning.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Tanzania (geoBoundaries). It is not an official report.
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.
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 errorHow we know this›
No perimeter yet: the area (≈ 3,486 ha) is estimated by counting VIIRS pixels with fire, about 14 ha each.
Dates of the first and last VIIRS detection of the cluster. 276 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
Weather: ECMWF IFS model, provisional until the ERA5 reanalysis arrives.
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.