Forest fires — Burning crop residues in China
China: Forest fires — Burning crop residues was 4.31 million t in 2024. ▼ Falling
Forest fires — Burning crop residues in China, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in t.
Analysis
In 2024, forest fires — burning crop residues in China stood at 4.31 million t.
The figure is down 23.1% on the previous year and down 35.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest fires — burning crop residues in China peaked at 14.69 million t in 2008 and was at its lowest, 2.23 million t, in 2017.
That places China 28th out of 219 countries 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.
Forest fires — Burning crop residues in China, year by year
| Year | t | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 5.73 million t | — |
| 1991 | 5.73 million t | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 5.73 million t | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 5.73 million t | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 5.73 million t | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 5.73 million t | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 6.43 million t | +12.1% |
| 1997 | 6.80 million t | +5.9% |
| 1998 | 7.89 million t | +16.0% |
| 1999 | 7.30 million t | -7.5% |
| 2000 | 8.30 million t | +13.7% |
| 2001 | 5.41 million t | -34.8% |
| 2002 | 3.01 million t | -44.4% |
| 2003 | 10.02 million t | +232.6% |
| 2004 | 8.72 million t | -13.0% |
| 2005 | 5.19 million t | -40.4% |
| 2006 | 3.80 million t | -26.8% |
| 2007 | 5.36 million t | +41.1% |
| 2008 | 14.69 million t | +173.9% |
| 2009 | 6.62 million t | -54.9% |
| 2010 | 7.44 million t | +12.4% |
| 2011 | 4.55 million t | -38.8% |
| 2012 | 3.36 million t | -26.1% |
| 2013 | 3.57 million t | +6.3% |
| 2014 | 6.67 million t | +86.6% |
| 2015 | 3.88 million t | -41.8% |
| 2016 | 4.37 million t | +12.5% |
| 2017 | 2.23 million t | -49.1% |
| 2018 | 4.64 million t | +108.6% |
| 2019 | 4.80 million t | +3.4% |
| 2020 | 5.10 million t | +6.3% |
| 2021 | 3.83 million t | -25.0% |
| 2022 | 2.29 million t | -40.3% |
| 2023 | 5.60 million t | +144.9% |
| 2024 | 4.31 million t | -23.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6.28 million t | 5.73 million t | 7.89 million t | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.11 million t | 3.01 million t | 14.69 million t | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.55 million t | 2.23 million t | 7.44 million t | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.23 million t | 2.29 million t | 5.60 million t | 5 |
Countries ranked near China
- 25 Peru 6.06 million t compare
- 26 Cameroon 4.99 million t compare
- 27 Chad 4.53 million t compare
- 28 China, mainland 4.31 million t compare
- 29 Cabo Verde 0 t
- 30 South Africa 3.45 million t compare
- 31 Nicaragua 3.31 million t compare
More climate change data for China
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 604,831 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 191,478 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 413,353 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 722.56 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 14,763 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 342,069 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 200,605 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 141,464 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 757 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 5,052 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest fires — burning crop residues in China?
- Forest fires — burning crop residues in China was 4.31 million t in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest fires — burning crop residues recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 14.69 million t in 2008.
- What is the lowest forest fires — burning crop residues recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.23 million t in 2017.
- How does China rank for forest fires — burning crop residues?
- China ranks 28th out of 219 countries with data for 2024.
- Is forest fires — burning crop residues rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 35.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Forest fires — Burning crop residues (Biomass burned, dry matter). 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.