Forest fires — Emissions in Northern America

Northern America: Forest fires — Emissions was 27.16 kt in 2023. ◆ Volatile

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

Forest fires — Emissions in Northern America, 1990–2023

01020301990200620231990: 7.2 kt1991: 7.2 kt1992: 7.2 kt1993: 7.2 kt1994: 7.2 kt1995: 7.2 kt1996: 11.7 kt1997: 5.8 kt1998: 18.3 kt1999: 10.5 kt2000: 7.8 kt2001: 1.3 kt2002: 3.8 kt2003: 5.1 kt2004: 4.1 kt2005: 3 kt2006: 3.7 kt2007: 4.5 kt2008: 4.4 kt2009: 3.1 kt2010: 3.6 kt2011: 4.5 kt2012: 4.6 kt2013: 5 kt2014: 4.1 kt2015: 10.2 kt2016: 4.5 kt2017: 7.2 kt2018: 10.2 kt2019: 4.8 kt2020: 9.8 kt2021: 12.1 kt2022: 5.1 kt2023: 27.2 kt

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

Analysis

Northern America recorded 27.16 kt for forest fires — emissions in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 430.0% on the previous year and up 448.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, forest fires — emissions in Northern America peaked at 27.16 kt in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.33 kt, in 2001.

That places Northern America 13th out of 32 groups with data for 2023, putting it 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 in Northern America, year by year

Annual values for Forest fires — Emissions (N2O) in Northern America, 1990 to 2023.
Year kt Change
1990 7.23 kt
1991 7.23 kt +0.0%
1992 7.23 kt +0.0%
1993 7.23 kt +0.0%
1994 7.23 kt +0.0%
1995 7.23 kt +0.0%
1996 11.7 kt +61.8%
1997 5.78 kt -50.6%
1998 18.25 kt +215.8%
1999 10.54 kt -42.3%
2000 7.81 kt -25.9%
2001 1.33 kt -83.0%
2002 3.76 kt +183.8%
2003 5.15 kt +36.8%
2004 4.12 kt -19.9%
2005 3 kt -27.3%
2006 3.71 kt +23.7%
2007 4.52 kt +22.0%
2008 4.42 kt -2.3%
2009 3.09 kt -30.0%
2010 3.57 kt +15.3%
2011 4.5 kt +26.1%
2012 4.64 kt +3.1%
2013 4.95 kt +6.6%
2014 4.14 kt -16.5%
2015 10.21 kt +146.9%
2016 4.45 kt -56.4%
2017 7.16 kt +60.7%
2018 10.23 kt +42.9%
2019 4.77 kt -53.3%
2020 9.83 kt +105.9%
2021 12.08 kt +22.9%
2022 5.13 kt -57.6%
2023 27.16 kt +430.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 8.96 kt 5.78 kt 18.25 kt 10
2000s 4.09 kt 1.33 kt 7.81 kt 10
2010s 5.86 kt 3.57 kt 10.23 kt 10
2020s 13.55 kt 5.13 kt 27.16 kt 4

Countries ranked near Northern America

  1. 10 Thailand 5.27 kt compare
  2. 11 Russian Federation 4.62 kt compare
  3. 12 Cambodia 3.49 kt compare
  4. 13 Mexico 3.34 kt compare
  5. 14 Sudan (former) 3.13 kt compare
  6. 15 Chile 2.89 kt compare
  7. 16 South Sudan 2.87 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 in Northern America?
Forest fires — emissions in Northern America was 27.16 kt in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest forest fires — emissions recorded in Northern America?
The highest recorded value was 27.16 kt in 2023.
What is the lowest forest fires — emissions recorded in Northern America?
The lowest recorded value was 1.33 kt in 2001.
How does Northern America rank for forest fires — emissions?
Northern America ranks 13th out of 32 groups with data for 2023.
Is forest fires — emissions 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 (N2O). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Forest fires — Emissions 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-n2o-fao-tier-1-2/northern-america/

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About this data

Indicator
Forest fires — Emissions (N2O)
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