Forest fires — Burning crop residues in South Africa
South Africa: Forest fires — Burning crop residues was 3.45 million t in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Forest fires — Burning crop residues in South Africa, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in t.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest fires — burning crop residues in South Africa is 3.45 million t, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 323.8% on the previous year and up 69.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest fires — burning crop residues in South Africa peaked at 12.81 million t in 1998 and was at its lowest, 583,450 t, in 2022.
That places South Africa 30th out of 219 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Forest fires — Burning crop residues in South Africa, year by year
| Year | t | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 2.82 million t | — |
| 1991 | 2.82 million t | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 2.82 million t | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 2.82 million t | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 2.82 million t | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 2.82 million t | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 7.41 million t | +163.2% |
| 1997 | 7.38 million t | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 12.81 million t | +73.7% |
| 1999 | 8.57 million t | -33.1% |
| 2000 | 2.88 million t | -66.4% |
| 2001 | 1.01 million t | -64.9% |
| 2002 | 936,710 t | -7.3% |
| 2003 | 2.30 million t | +145.5% |
| 2004 | 853,089 t | -62.9% |
| 2005 | 3.42 million t | +300.6% |
| 2006 | 1.02 million t | -70.0% |
| 2007 | 3.74 million t | +265.1% |
| 2008 | 2.20 million t | -41.1% |
| 2009 | 1.18 million t | -46.6% |
| 2010 | 1.75 million t | +48.7% |
| 2011 | 1.45 million t | -17.3% |
| 2012 | 1.52 million t | +5.1% |
| 2013 | 1.47 million t | -3.4% |
| 2014 | 2.04 million t | +38.9% |
| 2015 | 988,804 t | -51.5% |
| 2016 | 1.22 million t | +23.4% |
| 2017 | 1.75 million t | +43.3% |
| 2018 | 4.27 million t | +144.1% |
| 2019 | 1.91 million t | -55.4% |
| 2020 | 1.63 million t | -14.3% |
| 2021 | 1.10 million t | -32.7% |
| 2022 | 583,450 t | -46.9% |
| 2023 | 814,974 t | +39.7% |
| 2024 | 3.45 million t | +323.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5.31 million t | 2.82 million t | 12.81 million t | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.95 million t | 853,089 t | 3.74 million t | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.84 million t | 988,804 t | 4.27 million t | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.52 million t | 583,450 t | 3.45 million t | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 27 Chad 4.53 million t compare
- 27 Côte d'Ivoire 62,372 t compare
- 28 China 4.31 million t compare
- 28 China, mainland 4.31 million t compare
- 29 Cabo Verde 0 t
- 31 Nicaragua 3.31 million t compare
- 32 Nigeria 3.29 million t compare
- 33 Belize 3.01 million t compare
More climate change data for South Africa
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 717.27 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 34,365 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 11,741 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 22,624 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 44.31 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 807.99 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 5,495 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 5,119 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 376.6 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 19.32 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest fires — burning crop residues in South Africa?
- Forest fires — burning crop residues in South Africa was 3.45 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 12.81 million t in 1998.
- What is the lowest forest fires — burning crop residues recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 583,450 t in 2022.
- How does South Africa rank for forest fires — burning crop residues?
- South Africa ranks 30th out of 219 countries with data for 2024.
- Is forest fires — burning crop residues rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 69.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Africa 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.