Forest fires — Burned Area in Americas
Americas: Forest fires — Burned Area was 13.85 million ha in 2024. ▲ Rising
Forest fires — Burned Area in Americas, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in ha.
Analysis
In 2024, forest fires — burned area in Americas stood at 13.85 million ha. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 98.8% on the previous year and up 582.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest fires — burned area in Americas peaked at 13.85 million ha in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.93 million ha, in 2009.
Americas ranks 5th of 31 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Forest fires — Burned Area in Americas, year by year
| Year | ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 4.80 million ha | — |
| 1991 | 4.80 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 4.80 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 4.80 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 4.80 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 4.80 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 3.29 million ha | -31.5% |
| 1997 | 3.22 million ha | -2.2% |
| 1998 | 6.33 million ha | +96.7% |
| 1999 | 5.04 million ha | -20.4% |
| 2000 | 2.32 million ha | -53.9% |
| 2001 | 2.42 million ha | +4.1% |
| 2002 | 4.94 million ha | +104.3% |
| 2003 | 5.23 million ha | +5.9% |
| 2004 | 6.20 million ha | +18.6% |
| 2005 | 6.29 million ha | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 3.89 million ha | -38.2% |
| 2007 | 7.62 million ha | +96.0% |
| 2008 | 3.33 million ha | -56.4% |
| 2009 | 1.93 million ha | -42.1% |
| 2010 | 8.72 million ha | +352.9% |
| 2011 | 3.12 million ha | -64.3% |
| 2012 | 3.45 million ha | +10.8% |
| 2013 | 2.32 million ha | -32.9% |
| 2014 | 2.03 million ha | -12.5% |
| 2015 | 4.34 million ha | +114.0% |
| 2016 | 3.35 million ha | -22.8% |
| 2017 | 4.46 million ha | +33.2% |
| 2018 | 2.66 million ha | -40.3% |
| 2019 | 5.81 million ha | +118.0% |
| 2020 | 6.85 million ha | +17.9% |
| 2021 | 5.03 million ha | -26.5% |
| 2022 | 4.31 million ha | -14.3% |
| 2023 | 6.97 million ha | +61.7% |
| 2024 | 13.85 million ha | +98.8% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Forest fires — Burned Area in Americas changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | +352.9% | 1.93 million ha | 8.72 million ha |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 4.67 million ha | 3.22 million ha | 6.33 million ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.42 million ha | 1.93 million ha | 7.62 million ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.03 million ha | 2.03 million ha | 8.72 million ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.40 million ha | 4.31 million ha | 13.85 million ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Americas
- 2 Zambia 2.93 million ha compare
- 3 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 5.92 million ha compare
- 3 Central African Republic 2.42 million ha compare
- 4 Mozambique 2.26 million ha compare
- 5 Angola 1.85 million ha compare
- 5 Democratic Republic of the Congo 3.50 million ha compare
- 6 Lao People's Democratic Republic 481,396 ha compare
- 6 OECD 1.77 million ha compare
- 7 Myanmar 1.29 million ha compare
- 7 United Republic of Tanzania 414,900 ha compare
- 8 Russian Federation 723,318 ha compare
- 8 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 316,286 ha compare
More climate change data for Americas
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 28.70 billion kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 1.51 million kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 342,967 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 1.17 million kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 1,294 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 41,659 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 273,211 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 222,184 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 51,028 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 838.43 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest fires — burned area in Americas?
- Forest fires — burned area in Americas was 13.85 million ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest fires — burned area recorded in Americas?
- The highest recorded value was 13.85 million ha in 2024.
- What is the lowest forest fires — burned area recorded in Americas?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.93 million ha in 2009.
- How does Americas rank for forest fires — burned area?
- Americas ranks 5th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is forest fires — burned area rising or falling in Americas?
- Over the last ten years it is up 582.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Americas data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Forest fires — Burned Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions from Fires consists of estimates of methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated from biomass burning in a range of vegetation types and from fires in organic soils.