Forest fires — Emissions (CO2eq) in United States of America

United States of America: Forest fires — Emissions (CO2eq) was 1,610 kt in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
1,610 kt
Change on year
down 20.2%
Rank
18th
of 32 groups
All-time high
5,408 kt
in 2020
All-time low
652.15 kt
in 2001
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Forest fires — Emissions (CO2eq) in United States of America, 1990–2023

1.0k2.0k3.0k4.0k5.0k1990200620231990: 2.1k kt1991: 2.1k kt1992: 2.1k kt1993: 2.1k kt1994: 2.1k kt1995: 2.1k kt1996: 3.3k kt1997: 1.6k kt1998: 3.1k kt1999: 3.6k kt2000: 3.7k kt2001: 652.2 kt2002: 1.6k kt2003: 1.7k kt2004: 1.5k kt2005: 1.2k kt2006: 1.4k kt2007: 2.2k kt2008: 2.4k kt2009: 1.3k kt2010: 1.0k kt2011: 1.6k kt2012: 1.4k kt2013: 1.6k kt2014: 1.5k kt2015: 2.9k kt2016: 1.5k kt2017: 2.7k kt2018: 2.5k kt2019: 1.3k kt2020: 5.4k kt2021: 3.7k kt2022: 2.0k kt2023: 1.6k kt

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

Analysis

In 2023, forest fires — emissions (co2eq) in United States of America stood at 1,610 kt.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 20.2% on the previous year and up 1.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, forest fires — emissions (co2eq) in United States of America peaked at 5,408 kt in 2020 and was at its lowest, 652.15 kt, in 2001.

That places United States of America 18th out of 32 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.

Forest fires — Emissions (CO2eq) in United States of America, year by year

Annual values for Forest fires — Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) in United States of America, 1990 to 2023.
Year kt Change
1990 2,132 kt
1991 2,132 kt +0.0%
1992 2,132 kt +0.0%
1993 2,132 kt +0.0%
1994 2,132 kt +0.0%
1995 2,132 kt +0.0%
1996 3,286 kt +54.1%
1997 1,553 kt -52.7%
1998 3,099 kt +99.6%
1999 3,579 kt +15.5%
2000 3,688 kt +3.0%
2001 652.15 kt -82.3%
2002 1,634 kt +150.5%
2003 1,664 kt +1.8%
2004 1,491 kt -10.4%
2005 1,217 kt -18.4%
2006 1,368 kt +12.4%
2007 2,209 kt +61.4%
2008 2,383 kt +7.9%
2009 1,317 kt -44.7%
2010 1,033 kt -21.6%
2011 1,620 kt +56.9%
2012 1,392 kt -14.1%
2013 1,580 kt +13.5%
2014 1,543 kt -2.3%
2015 2,868 kt +85.8%
2016 1,487 kt -48.1%
2017 2,729 kt +83.5%
2018 2,531 kt -7.2%
2019 1,260 kt -50.2%
2020 5,408 kt +329.1%
2021 3,747 kt -30.7%
2022 2,018 kt -46.1%
2023 1,610 kt -20.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 2,431 kt 1,553 kt 3,579 kt 10
2000s 1,762 kt 652.15 kt 3,688 kt 10
2010s 1,804 kt 1,033 kt 2,868 kt 10
2020s 3,196 kt 1,610 kt 5,408 kt 4

Countries ranked near United States of America

  1. 15 Chile 1,653 kt compare
  2. 15 Syrian Arab Republic 6.63 kt compare
  3. 16 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 1.43 kt compare
  4. 16 South Sudan 1,643 kt compare
  5. 17 Nepal 1,341 kt compare
  6. 17 Republic of Moldova 0.123 kt compare
  7. 18 Indonesia 1,248 kt compare
  8. 18 Micronesia (Federated States of) 0 kt
  9. 18 Wallis and Futuna Islands 0 kt
  10. 18 Micronesia 0 kt
  11. 18 Polynesia 0 kt compare
  12. 19 Australia and New Zealand 981.82 kt compare
  13. 20 Australia 980 kt compare
  14. 21 Ethiopia 900.21 kt compare

See the full ranking of 273 places →

More climate change data for United States of America

All data for United States of America →

Frequently asked questions

What is forest fires — emissions (co2eq) in United States of America?
Forest fires — emissions (co2eq) in United States of America was 1,610 kt in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest forest fires — emissions (co2eq) recorded in United States of America?
The highest recorded value was 5,408 kt in 2020.
What is the lowest forest fires — emissions (co2eq) recorded in United States of America?
The lowest recorded value was 652.15 kt in 2001.
How does United States of America rank for forest fires — emissions (co2eq)?
United States of America ranks 18th out of 32 groups with data for 2023.
Is forest fires — emissions (co2eq) rising or falling in United States of America?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United States of 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 United States of America. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 09 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/forest-fires-emissions-co2eq-ar5-fao-tier-1/united-states-of-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