Nice, thanks but did you know about NASA FIRMS?
https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@-117.8,34...
No, looks like they're doing a way better job! Thanks for sharing. I was only aware of the GOES sats. Seems like VIIRS is more intended to do this kind of monitoring.
I still like what you did on break. FWIW GEOS provides Fire Temperature: https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/goes/sector_band.php?sat=G1...
FIRMS is very cool, but take it with a grain of salt - we were all looking at it obsessively while Jasper AB burned this summer, and apparently it has issues with differentiating between fire on the ground and fire in the smoke clouds, so it can make the fire boundary look bigger than it actually is.
Interesting that FIRMS doesn't seem to yet be showing the "Sunset" fire, or anything West of Griffith Park...
Maybe because FIRMS uses data from satellites in polar orbits, which only pass over the area once every few hours? With choosing near-Earth polar vs. farther geostationary orbits there's a tradeoff between space and time resolution.
Wonder why the whole central band of Africa is just covered in fires, households? deforestation?
A sibling comment mentioned that it can detect smoke, so my guess is waste disposal, aka burning trash in your backyard. Some can produce quite a lot of smoke.
I did a private pilot license in Africa, the biggest "plus" was that I always knew the direction of the wind on the ground by looking at all these fires. There was never a time when I didn't see smoke unless I was flying in very remote areas.
Why did you assume they are burning trash instead of log fires? What was the primary fuel for cooking and heating for poor people in the part of Africa you got your PPL?
It's not an assumption, it's commonly done in some parts of the world that don't have proper waste management. What happens after you put trash in a bin and there's nobody to collect it? You have to get rid of it somehow. Out of many options, such as throwing it in the sea, burring it in the ground or simply burning it, the latter is usually done because it's easier and quicker.
Heating isn't really an issue in the part I lived (warm all year round, even in the night) and the smell of burned plastic is quite distinguishable, even at higher altitudes.
If you look at all the green, you'll notice the fires are in the equatorial rainforest that runs along the equator. Fire is a quick, non-mechanical way to clear land of vegetation for farming or other uses.
Additionally, in a rainforest, wood is a cheap and easily available source of fuel for day to day household energy needs in areas that are rural, remote and with no electrical services.