Humid tropical forest — Burned Area in Americas

Americas: Humid tropical forest — Burned Area was 12.11 million ha in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
12.11 million ha
Change on year
up 265.1%
Rank
4th
of 31 groups
All-time high
12.11 million ha
in 2024
All-time low
1.15 million ha
in 2000
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Humid tropical forest — Burned Area in Americas, 1990–2024

02.5M5.0M7.5M10.0M12.5M1990200720241990: 3.6M ha1991: 3.6M ha1992: 3.6M ha1993: 3.6M ha1994: 3.6M ha1995: 3.6M ha1996: 1.9M ha1997: 2.3M ha1998: 3.9M ha1999: 3.4M ha2000: 1.2M ha2001: 1.9M ha2002: 4.0M ha2003: 4.2M ha2004: 5.5M ha2005: 5.3M ha2006: 3.1M ha2007: 6.3M ha2008: 2.2M ha2009: 1.3M ha2010: 7.7M ha2011: 2.1M ha2012: 2.5M ha2013: 1.3M ha2014: 1.5M ha2015: 2.9M ha2016: 2.6M ha2017: 3.1M ha2018: 1.4M ha2019: 4.3M ha2020: 5.2M ha2021: 3.3M ha2022: 3.3M ha2023: 3.3M ha2024: 12.1M ha

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

Analysis

Americas recorded 12.11 million ha for humid tropical forest — burned area in 2024. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 265.1% on the previous year and up 720.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, humid tropical forest — burned area in Americas peaked at 12.11 million ha in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.15 million ha, in 2000.

That places Americas 4th out of 31 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Humid tropical forest — Burned Area in Americas, year by year

Annual values for Humid tropical forest — Burned Area in Americas, 1990 to 2024.
Year ha Change
1990 3.55 million ha
1991 3.55 million ha +0.0%
1992 3.55 million ha +0.0%
1993 3.55 million ha +0.0%
1994 3.55 million ha +0.0%
1995 3.55 million ha +0.0%
1996 1.92 million ha -46.1%
1997 2.27 million ha +18.3%
1998 3.91 million ha +72.5%
1999 3.35 million ha -14.3%
2000 1.15 million ha -65.6%
2001 1.89 million ha +63.6%
2002 3.98 million ha +111.0%
2003 4.16 million ha +4.6%
2004 5.45 million ha +31.0%
2005 5.35 million ha -2.0%
2006 3.11 million ha -41.7%
2007 6.31 million ha +102.7%
2008 2.23 million ha -64.6%
2009 1.25 million ha -44.0%
2010 7.72 million ha +517.0%
2011 2.09 million ha -72.9%
2012 2.48 million ha +19.0%
2013 1.34 million ha -46.1%
2014 1.48 million ha +10.2%
2015 2.87 million ha +94.6%
2016 2.59 million ha -10.0%
2017 3.11 million ha +20.2%
2018 1.38 million ha -55.5%
2019 4.32 million ha +212.8%
2020 5.22 million ha +20.6%
2021 3.32 million ha -36.4%
2022 3.33 million ha +0.4%
2023 3.32 million ha -0.4%
2024 12.11 million ha +265.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 3.28 million ha 1.92 million ha 3.91 million ha 10
2000s 3.49 million ha 1.15 million ha 6.31 million ha 10
2010s 2.94 million ha 1.34 million ha 7.72 million ha 10
2020s 5.46 million ha 3.32 million ha 12.11 million ha 5

Countries ranked near Americas

  1. 1 Brazil 5.25 million ha compare
  2. 2 Zambia 2.66 million ha compare
  3. 3 Central African Republic 2.29 million ha compare
  4. 4 Angola 1.76 million ha compare
  5. 5 Myanmar 996,881 ha compare
  6. 6 Mozambique 613,112 ha compare
  7. 7 Nepal 323,113 ha compare

See the full ranking of 270 places →

More climate change data for Americas

All data for Americas →

Frequently asked questions

What is humid tropical forest — burned area in Americas?
Humid tropical forest — burned area in Americas was 12.11 million ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest humid tropical forest — burned area recorded in Americas?
The highest recorded value was 12.11 million ha in 2024.
What is the lowest humid tropical forest — burned area recorded in Americas?
The lowest recorded value was 1.15 million ha in 2000.
How does Americas rank for humid tropical forest — burned area?
Americas ranks 4th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
Is humid tropical forest — burned area rising or falling in Americas?
Over the last ten years it is up 720.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Americas data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Humid tropical forest — Burned Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Humid tropical forest — Burned Area in Americas. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 25 August 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/humid-tropical-forest-burned-area-fao-tier-1/americas/

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About this data

Indicator
Humid tropical forest — Burned Area
Unit
ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
270 places, 9,224 data points, 1990–2024
Last refreshed

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.