Forest fires — Burned Area in Southern Asia
Southern Asia: Forest fires — Burned Area was 928,049 ha in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Forest fires — Burned Area in Southern Asia, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in ha.
Analysis
Southern Asia recorded 928,049 ha for forest fires — burned area in 2024.
That represents a change of up 27.3% on the previous year and down 10.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest fires — burned area in Southern Asia peaked at 2.08 million ha in 2021 and was at its lowest, 123,818 ha, in 2002.
Southern Asia ranks 13th of 31 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Forest fires — Burned Area in Southern Asia, year by year
| Year | ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 852,478 ha | — |
| 1991 | 852,478 ha | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 852,478 ha | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 852,478 ha | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 852,478 ha | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 852,478 ha | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 183,357 ha | -78.5% |
| 1997 | 149,044 ha | -18.7% |
| 1998 | 165,860 ha | +11.3% |
| 1999 | 316,007 ha | +90.5% |
| 2000 | 185,830 ha | -41.2% |
| 2001 | 257,210 ha | +38.4% |
| 2002 | 123,818 ha | -51.9% |
| 2003 | 683,377 ha | +451.9% |
| 2004 | 970,852 ha | +42.1% |
| 2005 | 645,978 ha | -33.5% |
| 2006 | 707,159 ha | +9.5% |
| 2007 | 993,853 ha | +40.5% |
| 2008 | 662,138 ha | -33.4% |
| 2009 | 1.91 million ha | +188.4% |
| 2010 | 1.61 million ha | -15.8% |
| 2011 | 820,009 ha | -49.0% |
| 2012 | 1.88 million ha | +129.3% |
| 2013 | 1.23 million ha | -34.6% |
| 2014 | 1.04 million ha | -15.7% |
| 2015 | 627,978 ha | -39.5% |
| 2016 | 1.24 million ha | +97.2% |
| 2017 | 1.36 million ha | +9.6% |
| 2018 | 1.13 million ha | -17.0% |
| 2019 | 861,710 ha | -23.5% |
| 2020 | 393,207 ha | -54.4% |
| 2021 | 2.08 million ha | +429.4% |
| 2022 | 845,331 ha | -59.4% |
| 2023 | 729,168 ha | -13.7% |
| 2024 | 928,049 ha | +27.3% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Forest fires — Burned Area in Southern Asia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | +451.9% | 123,818 ha | 683,377 ha |
| 2021 | +429.4% | 393,207 ha | 2.08 million ha |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 592,914 ha | 149,044 ha | 852,478 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 713,974 ha | 123,818 ha | 1.91 million ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.18 million ha | 627,978 ha | 1.88 million ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 995,483 ha | 393,207 ha | 2.08 million ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Southern Asia
- 10 Mexico 557,291 ha compare
- 10 Viet Nam 77,644 ha compare
- 11 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 10,553 ha compare
- 11 India 523,649 ha compare
- 12 Cambodia 470,662 ha compare
- 12 Melanesia 8,913 ha compare
- 13 Nepal 363,091 ha compare
- 13 Türkiye 2,750 ha compare
- 14 Thailand 362,523 ha compare
- 14 Timor-Leste 171.01 ha compare
- 15 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 0 ha compare
- 15 Micronesia (Federated States of) 0 ha
- 15 Republic of Moldova 0 ha compare
- 15 South Sudan 289,236 ha compare
- 15 Syrian Arab Republic 0 ha compare
- 15 Wallis and Futuna Islands 0 ha
- 15 Micronesia 0 ha
- 15 Polynesia 0 ha compare
- 16 Sudan (former) 276,002 ha compare
More climate change data for Southern Asia
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 38.40 billion kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 933,596 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 178,099 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 755,497 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 672.07 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 26,982 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 403,904 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 246,070 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 157,834 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 928.57 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest fires — burned area in Southern Asia?
- Forest fires — burned area in Southern Asia was 928,049 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest fires — burned area recorded in Southern Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.08 million ha in 2021.
- What is the lowest forest fires — burned area recorded in Southern Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 123,818 ha in 2002.
- How does Southern Asia rank for forest fires — burned area?
- Southern Asia ranks 13th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is forest fires — burned area rising or falling in Southern Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Southern Asia 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.