Savanna fires — Burned Area in Southern Africa
Southern Africa: Savanna fires — Burned Area was 7.69 million ha in 2024. ▼ Falling
Savanna fires — Burned Area in Southern Africa, 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 Southern Africa is 7.69 million ha, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 58.1% on the previous year and down 15.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, savanna fires — burned area in Southern Africa peaked at 28.96 million ha in 2011 and was at its lowest, 4.75 million ha, in 2019.
Southern Africa ranks 15th of 31 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Savanna fires — Burned Area in Southern Africa, year by year
| Year | ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 13.06 million ha | — |
| 1991 | 13.06 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 13.06 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 13.06 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 13.06 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 13.06 million ha | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 16.09 million ha | +23.2% |
| 1997 | 14.53 million ha | -9.7% |
| 1998 | 14.78 million ha | +1.8% |
| 1999 | 13.85 million ha | -6.3% |
| 2000 | 13.83 million ha | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 15.20 million ha | +9.9% |
| 2002 | 16.23 million ha | +6.8% |
| 2003 | 8.03 million ha | -50.5% |
| 2004 | 8.39 million ha | +4.5% |
| 2005 | 11.08 million ha | +32.1% |
| 2006 | 13.80 million ha | +24.6% |
| 2007 | 11.32 million ha | -18.0% |
| 2008 | 17.67 million ha | +56.1% |
| 2009 | 11.36 million ha | -35.7% |
| 2010 | 22.48 million ha | +98.0% |
| 2011 | 28.96 million ha | +28.8% |
| 2012 | 17.51 million ha | -39.5% |
| 2013 | 11.38 million ha | -35.0% |
| 2014 | 9.14 million ha | -19.7% |
| 2015 | 6.84 million ha | -25.1% |
| 2016 | 5.10 million ha | -25.5% |
| 2017 | 10.32 million ha | +102.4% |
| 2018 | 7.61 million ha | -26.3% |
| 2019 | 4.75 million ha | -37.5% |
| 2020 | 9.21 million ha | +93.7% |
| 2021 | 19.30 million ha | +109.7% |
| 2022 | 13.14 million ha | -31.9% |
| 2023 | 18.37 million ha | +39.8% |
| 2024 | 7.69 million ha | -58.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 13.76 million ha | 13.06 million ha | 16.09 million ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.69 million ha | 8.03 million ha | 17.67 million ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.41 million ha | 4.75 million ha | 28.96 million ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.54 million ha | 7.69 million ha | 19.30 million ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Southern Africa
More climate change data for Southern Africa
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 48,717 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 16,474 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 32,243 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 62.17 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 1,152 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 5,709 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 5,306 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 402.74 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 20.02 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 14.38 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is savanna fires — burned area in Southern Africa?
- Savanna fires — burned area in Southern Africa was 7.69 million ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest savanna fires — burned area recorded in Southern Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 28.96 million ha in 2011.
- What is the lowest savanna fires — burned area recorded in Southern Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.75 million ha in 2019.
- How does Southern Africa rank for savanna fires — burned area?
- Southern Africa ranks 15th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is savanna fires — burned area rising or falling in Southern Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Southern Africa 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.