Forest fires — Emissions (CO2eq) in Northern America

Northern America: Forest fires — Emissions (CO2eq) was 15,529 kt in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
15,529 kt
Change on year
up 430.0%
Rank
13th
of 32 groups
All-time high
15,529 kt
in 2023
All-time low
757.85 kt
in 2001
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Forest fires — Emissions (CO2eq) in Northern America, 1990–2023

05.0k10.0k15.0k1990200620231990: 4.5k kt1991: 4.5k kt1992: 4.5k kt1993: 4.5k kt1994: 4.5k kt1995: 4.5k kt1996: 9.0k kt1997: 4.5k kt1998: 14.1k kt1999: 8.2k kt2000: 6.0k kt2001: 757.9 kt2002: 2.2k kt2003: 2.9k kt2004: 2.4k kt2005: 1.7k kt2006: 2.1k kt2007: 2.6k kt2008: 2.5k kt2009: 1.8k kt2010: 2.0k kt2011: 2.6k kt2012: 2.7k kt2013: 2.8k kt2014: 2.4k kt2015: 5.8k kt2016: 2.5k kt2017: 4.1k kt2018: 5.8k kt2019: 2.7k kt2020: 5.6k kt2021: 6.9k kt2022: 2.9k kt2023: 15.5k kt

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kt.

Analysis

In 2023, forest fires — emissions (co2eq) in Northern America stood at 15,529 kt. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.

That represents a change of up 430.0% on the previous year and up 448.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, forest fires — emissions (co2eq) in Northern America peaked at 15,529 kt in 2023 and was at its lowest, 757.85 kt, in 2001.

Northern America ranks 13th of 32 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 — Emissions (CO2eq) in Northern America, year by year

Annual values for Forest fires — Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) in Northern America, 1990 to 2023.
Year kt Change
1990 4,508 kt
1991 4,508 kt +0.0%
1992 4,508 kt +0.0%
1993 4,508 kt +0.0%
1994 4,508 kt +0.0%
1995 4,508 kt +0.0%
1996 9,033 kt +100.4%
1997 4,465 kt -50.6%
1998 14,088 kt +215.5%
1999 8,164 kt -42.1%
2000 6,037 kt -26.0%
2001 757.85 kt -87.4%
2002 2,151 kt +183.8%
2003 2,941 kt +36.8%
2004 2,357 kt -19.9%
2005 1,713 kt -27.3%
2006 2,120 kt +23.7%
2007 2,587 kt +22.0%
2008 2,527 kt -2.3%
2009 1,769 kt -30.0%
2010 2,040 kt +15.3%
2011 2,573 kt +26.1%
2012 2,654 kt +3.1%
2013 2,830 kt +6.6%
2014 2,364 kt -16.5%
2015 5,838 kt +146.9%
2016 2,546 kt -56.4%
2017 4,092 kt +60.7%
2018 5,846 kt +42.9%
2019 2,729 kt -53.3%
2020 5,619 kt +105.9%
2021 6,908 kt +22.9%
2022 2,930 kt -57.6%
2023 15,529 kt +430.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 6,280 kt 4,465 kt 14,088 kt 10
2000s 2,496 kt 757.85 kt 6,037 kt 10
2010s 3,351 kt 2,040 kt 5,846 kt 10
2020s 7,747 kt 2,930 kt 15,529 kt 4

Countries ranked near Northern America

  1. 10 Thailand 3,010 kt compare
  2. 11 Russian Federation 2,638 kt compare
  3. 12 Cambodia 1,997 kt compare
  4. 13 Mexico 1,907 kt compare
  5. 14 Sudan (former) 1,792 kt compare
  6. 15 Chile 1,653 kt compare
  7. 16 South Sudan 1,643 kt compare

See the full ranking of 273 places →

More climate change data for Northern America

All data for Northern America →

Frequently asked questions

What is forest fires — emissions (co2eq) in Northern America?
Forest fires — emissions (co2eq) in Northern America was 15,529 kt in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest forest fires — emissions (co2eq) recorded in Northern America?
The highest recorded value was 15,529 kt in 2023.
What is the lowest forest fires — emissions (co2eq) recorded in Northern America?
The lowest recorded value was 757.85 kt in 2001.
How does Northern America rank for forest fires — emissions (co2eq)?
Northern America ranks 13th out of 32 groups with data for 2023.
Is forest fires — emissions (co2eq) rising or falling in Northern America?
Over the last ten years it is up 448.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Northern America data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Forest fires — Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Forest fires — Emissions (CO2eq) in Northern America. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 27 August 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/forest-fires-emissions-co2eq-ar5-fao-tier-1/northern-america/

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About this data

Indicator
Forest fires — Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5)
Unit
kt
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
273 places, 9,061 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions Totals summarizes the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions disseminated in the FAOSTAT Climate Change domains of emissions from agrifood systems. Data are computed following the Tier 1 methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National greenhouse gas (GHG) Inventories (IPCC, 1996; 1997; 2000; 2002; 2006; 2014). Emissions from other economic sectors as defined by the IPCC are also disseminated in the domain for completeness. Methodological details can be found at: https://files-faostat.fao.org/production/GT/GT_en.pdf