Forest fires — Emissions in China
China: Forest fires — Emissions was 6,948 kt in 2024. ▼ Falling
Forest fires — Emissions in China, 2001–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kt.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest fires — emissions in China is 6,948 kt, measured in 2024.
The figure is down 23.1% on the previous year and down 35.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest fires — emissions in China peaked at 23,688 kt in 2008 and was at its lowest, 3,591 kt, in 2017.
That places China 28th out of 181 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Forest fires — Emissions in China, year by year
| Year | kt | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 8,733 kt | — |
| 2002 | 4,859 kt | -44.4% |
| 2003 | 16,160 kt | +232.6% |
| 2004 | 14,058 kt | -13.0% |
| 2005 | 8,373 kt | -40.4% |
| 2006 | 6,130 kt | -26.8% |
| 2007 | 8,648 kt | +41.1% |
| 2008 | 23,688 kt | +173.9% |
| 2009 | 10,676 kt | -54.9% |
| 2010 | 11,994 kt | +12.4% |
| 2011 | 7,341 kt | -38.8% |
| 2012 | 5,423 kt | -26.1% |
| 2013 | 5,764 kt | +6.3% |
| 2014 | 10,758 kt | +86.6% |
| 2015 | 6,263 kt | -41.8% |
| 2016 | 7,048 kt | +12.5% |
| 2017 | 3,591 kt | -49.1% |
| 2018 | 7,489 kt | +108.6% |
| 2019 | 7,743 kt | +3.4% |
| 2020 | 8,234 kt | +6.3% |
| 2021 | 6,178 kt | -25.0% |
| 2022 | 3,691 kt | -40.3% |
| 2023 | 9,039 kt | +144.9% |
| 2024 | 6,948 kt | -23.1% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 6,948 kt is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 58.23 kt, 119.3× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- China's 6,948 kt is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 23.85 kt, 291.3× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Forest fires — Emissions in China 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 | +232.6% | 4,859 kt | 16,160 kt |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 11,258 kt | 4,859 kt | 23,688 kt | 9 |
| 2010s | 7,341 kt | 3,591 kt | 11,994 kt | 10 |
| 2020s | 6,818 kt | 3,691 kt | 9,039 kt | 5 |
Countries ranked near China
- 25 Peru 9,772 kt compare
- 26 Cameroon 8,050 kt compare
- 27 Chad 7,305 kt compare
- 27 Côte d'Ivoire 100.61 kt compare
- 28 China, mainland 6,948 kt compare
- 29 Cabo Verde 0 kt
- 30 South Africa 5,571 kt compare
- 31 Nicaragua 5,334 kt compare
More climate change data for China
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 31.25 billion kg (2050)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest fires — emissions in China?
- Forest fires — emissions in China was 6,948 kt in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest fires — emissions recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 23,688 kt in 2008.
- What is the lowest forest fires — emissions recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 3,591 kt in 2017.
- How does China rank for forest fires — emissions?
- China ranks 28th out of 181 countries with data for 2024.
- Is forest fires — emissions 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 — Emissions (CO2). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 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.