Savanna fires — Burned Area in Australia
Australia: Savanna fires — Burned Area was 34.24 million ha in 2024. ▼ Falling
Savanna fires — Burned Area in Australia, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in ha.
Analysis
The most recent figure for savanna fires — burned area in Australia is 34.24 million ha, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 52.0% on the previous year and down 25.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, savanna fires — burned area in Australia peaked at 91.44 million ha in 2001 and was at its lowest, 14.86 million ha, in 2020.
That places Australia 4th out of 221 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Savanna fires — Burned Area in Australia, year by year
| Year | ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 46.39 million ha | — |
| 1991 | 46.39 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 46.39 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 46.39 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 46.39 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 46.39 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 36.86 million ha | -20.6% |
| 1997 | 33.75 million ha | -8.4% |
| 1998 | 38.87 million ha | +15.2% |
| 1999 | 61.96 million ha | +59.4% |
| 2000 | 73.37 million ha | +18.4% |
| 2001 | 91.44 million ha | +24.6% |
| 2002 | 75.82 million ha | -17.1% |
| 2003 | 30.21 million ha | -60.1% |
| 2004 | 62.66 million ha | +107.4% |
| 2005 | 27.14 million ha | -56.7% |
| 2006 | 55.71 million ha | +105.3% |
| 2007 | 50.89 million ha | -8.6% |
| 2008 | 31.24 million ha | -38.6% |
| 2009 | 39.71 million ha | +27.1% |
| 2010 | 17.92 million ha | -54.9% |
| 2011 | 86.42 million ha | +382.2% |
| 2012 | 88.69 million ha | +2.6% |
| 2013 | 27.42 million ha | -69.1% |
| 2014 | 45.67 million ha | +66.5% |
| 2015 | 41.33 million ha | -9.5% |
| 2016 | 23.45 million ha | -43.3% |
| 2017 | 47.79 million ha | +103.8% |
| 2018 | 51.23 million ha | +7.2% |
| 2019 | 32.16 million ha | -37.2% |
| 2020 | 14.86 million ha | -53.8% |
| 2021 | 25.82 million ha | +73.8% |
| 2022 | 27.39 million ha | +6.1% |
| 2023 | 71.37 million ha | +160.6% |
| 2024 | 34.24 million ha | -52.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 44.98 million ha | 33.75 million ha | 61.96 million ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 53.82 million ha | 27.14 million ha | 91.44 million ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 46.21 million ha | 17.92 million ha | 88.69 million ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 34.74 million ha | 14.86 million ha | 71.37 million ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 1 OECD 42.37 million ha compare
- 2 Angola 35.32 million ha compare
- 3 Australia and New Zealand 34.24 million ha compare
- 5 Sudan (former) 31.05 million ha compare
- 6 South Sudan 24.46 million ha compare
- 7 Zambia 18.80 million ha compare
More climate change data for Australia
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 118,578 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 34,162 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 84,416 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 128.91 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 3,015 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 12,473 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 10,966 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 1,507 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 41.38 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 53.82 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is savanna fires — burned area in Australia?
- Savanna fires — burned area in Australia was 34.24 million ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest savanna fires — burned area recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 91.44 million ha in 2001.
- What is the lowest savanna fires — burned area recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.86 million ha in 2020.
- How does Australia rank for savanna fires — burned area?
- Australia ranks 4th out of 221 countries with data for 2024.
- Is savanna fires — burned area rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 25.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Savanna fires — Burned Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 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.