Forest fires — Emissions (CH4) in South America
South America: Forest fires — Emissions (CH4) was 1,479 kt in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Forest fires — Emissions in South America, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kt.
Analysis
South America recorded 1,479 kt for forest fires — emissions in 2024. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 251.2% on the previous year and up 714.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest fires — emissions in South America peaked at 1,479 kt in 2024 and was at its lowest, 140.4 kt, in 2009.
South America ranks 7th of 31 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Forest fires — Emissions (CH4) in South America, year by year
| Year | kt | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 546.85 kt | — |
| 1991 | 546.85 kt | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 546.85 kt | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 546.85 kt | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 546.85 kt | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 546.85 kt | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 726.51 kt | +32.9% |
| 1997 | 873.5 kt | +20.2% |
| 1998 | 1,256 kt | +43.8% |
| 1999 | 1,278 kt | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 340.58 kt | -73.3% |
| 2001 | 262.93 kt | -22.8% |
| 2002 | 522.02 kt | +98.5% |
| 2003 | 423.96 kt | -18.8% |
| 2004 | 698.5 kt | +64.8% |
| 2005 | 632.87 kt | -9.4% |
| 2006 | 385.27 kt | -39.1% |
| 2007 | 841.33 kt | +118.4% |
| 2008 | 308.08 kt | -63.4% |
| 2009 | 140.4 kt | -54.4% |
| 2010 | 1,006 kt | +616.5% |
| 2011 | 246.98 kt | -75.5% |
| 2012 | 339.23 kt | +37.4% |
| 2013 | 144.37 kt | -57.4% |
| 2014 | 181.65 kt | +25.8% |
| 2015 | 362.22 kt | +99.4% |
| 2016 | 309.66 kt | -14.5% |
| 2017 | 407.91 kt | +31.7% |
| 2018 | 172.28 kt | -57.8% |
| 2019 | 580.64 kt | +237.0% |
| 2020 | 643.99 kt | +10.9% |
| 2021 | 437.03 kt | -32.1% |
| 2022 | 435.88 kt | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 421.25 kt | -3.4% |
| 2024 | 1,479 kt | +251.2% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Forest fires — Emissions (CH4) in South America 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 | +616.5% | 140.4 kt | 1,006 kt |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 741.51 kt | 546.85 kt | 1,278 kt | 10 |
| 2000s | 455.59 kt | 140.4 kt | 841.33 kt | 10 |
| 2010s | 375.1 kt | 144.37 kt | 1,006 kt | 10 |
| 2020s | 683.52 kt | 421.25 kt | 1,479 kt | 5 |
Countries ranked near South America
- 4 Mozambique 267.75 kt compare
- 5 Angola 228.87 kt compare
- 5 Democratic Republic of the Congo 434.58 kt compare
- 6 Lao People's Democratic Republic 58.13 kt compare
- 6 OECD 192.31 kt compare
- 7 Myanmar 158.04 kt compare
- 7 United Republic of Tanzania 50.44 kt compare
- 8 Russian Federation 70.54 kt compare
- 8 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 39.17 kt compare
- 9 Canada 70.11 kt compare
- 10 Mexico 66.09 kt compare
- 10 Viet Nam 9.24 kt compare
More climate change data for South America
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 12.72 billion kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 1.01 million kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 224,200 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 781,384 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 846.04 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 27,907 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 123,748 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 96,422 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 27,326 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 363.86 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest fires — emissions in South America?
- Forest fires — emissions in South America was 1,479 kt in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest fires — emissions recorded in South America?
- The highest recorded value was 1,479 kt in 2024.
- What is the lowest forest fires — emissions recorded in South America?
- The lowest recorded value was 140.4 kt in 2009.
- How does South America rank for forest fires — emissions?
- South America ranks 7th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is forest fires — emissions rising or falling in South America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 714.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South America data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Forest fires — Emissions (CH4). 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.