Forest fires — Burned Area in Europe

Europe: Forest fires — Burned Area was 795,283 ha in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
795,283 ha
Change on year
up 44.7%
Rank
12th
of 46 groups
All-time high
2.54 million ha
in 1996
All-time low
545,168 ha
in 2001
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Forest fires — Burned Area in Europe, 1990–2024

500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M2.5M1990200720241990: 1.2M ha1991: 1.2M ha1992: 1.2M ha1993: 1.2M ha1994: 1.2M ha1995: 1.2M ha1996: 2.5M ha1997: 975.8k ha1998: 1.9M ha1999: 1.2M ha2000: 1.4M ha2001: 545.2k ha2002: 1.1M ha2003: 1.6M ha2004: 1.2M ha2005: 725.8k ha2006: 1.2M ha2007: 609.6k ha2008: 1.8M ha2009: 846.6k ha2010: 1.3M ha2011: 1.3M ha2012: 2.2M ha2013: 614.9k ha2014: 2.0M ha2015: 728.1k ha2016: 1.4M ha2017: 891.8k ha2018: 1.3M ha2019: 1.2M ha2020: 652.6k ha2021: 635.6k ha2022: 676.1k ha2023: 549.7k ha2024: 795.3k ha

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in ha.

Analysis

The most recent figure for forest fires — burned area in Europe is 795,283 ha, measured in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 44.7% on the previous year and down 60.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, forest fires — burned area in Europe peaked at 2.54 million ha in 1996 and was at its lowest, 545,168 ha, in 2001.

That places Europe 12th out of 46 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 1.36 million ha 975,843 ha 2.54 million ha 10
2000s 1.11 million ha 545,168 ha 1.82 million ha 10
2010s 1.28 million ha 614,907 ha 2.17 million ha 10
2020s 661,866 ha 549,729 ha 795,283 ha 5

Countries ranked near Europe

  1. 9 Canada 717,855 ha compare
  2. 10 Mexico 557,291 ha compare
  3. 11 India 523,649 ha compare
  4. 12 Cambodia 470,662 ha compare
  5. 13 Nepal 363,091 ha compare
  6. 14 Thailand 362,523 ha compare
  7. 15 South Sudan, Republic of 289,236 ha compare

See the full ranking of 272 places →

More climate change data for Europe

All data for Europe →

Frequently asked questions

What is forest fires — burned area in Europe?
Forest fires — burned area in Europe was 795,283 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest forest fires — burned area recorded in Europe?
The highest recorded value was 2.54 million ha in 1996.
What is the lowest forest fires — burned area recorded in Europe?
The lowest recorded value was 545,168 ha in 2001.
How does Europe rank for forest fires — burned area?
Europe ranks 12th out of 46 groups with data for 2024.
Is forest fires — burned area rising or falling in Europe?
Over the last ten years it is down 60.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Europe 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.

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Forest fires — Burned Area in Europe. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 19 August 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/forest-fires-burned-area-fao-tier-1/europe/

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About this data

Indicator
Forest fires — Burned Area
Unit
ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
272 places, 9,294 data points, 1990–2024
Last refreshed

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.