Savanna fires — Burning crop residues in China

China: Savanna fires — Burning crop residues was 1.07 million t in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
1.07 million t
Change on year
down 51.2%
World rank
52nd
of 221 countries
All-time high
7.49 million t
in 2003
All-time low
789,161 t
in 2021
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Savanna fires — Burning crop residues in China, 1990–2024

02.0M4.0M6.0M8.0M1990200720241990: 2.5M t1991: 2.5M t1992: 2.5M t1993: 2.5M t1994: 2.5M t1995: 2.5M t1996: 1.9M t1997: 1.7M t1998: 1.9M t1999: 1.5M t2000: 2.3M t2001: 1.6M t2002: 1.9M t2003: 7.5M t2004: 4.1M t2005: 2.9M t2006: 2.1M t2007: 3.1M t2008: 6.8M t2009: 3.8M t2010: 4.5M t2011: 2.2M t2012: 1.8M t2013: 2.0M t2014: 2.9M t2015: 2.1M t2016: 1.7M t2017: 1.4M t2018: 1.6M t2019: 2.1M t2020: 1.4M t2021: 789.2k t2022: 943.9k t2023: 2.2M t2024: 1.1M t

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for savanna fires — burning crop residues in China is 1.07 million t, measured in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 51.2% on the previous year and down 62.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, savanna fires — burning crop residues in China peaked at 7.49 million t in 2003 and was at its lowest, 789,161 t, in 2021.

That places China 52nd out of 221 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

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

Savanna fires — Burning crop residues in China, year by year

Annual values for Savanna fires — Burning crop residues (Biomass burned, dry matter) in China, 1990 to 2024.
Year t Change
1990 2.47 million t
1991 2.47 million t +0.0%
1992 2.47 million t +0.0%
1993 2.47 million t +0.0%
1994 2.47 million t +0.0%
1995 2.47 million t +0.0%
1996 1.86 million t -24.7%
1997 1.71 million t -8.0%
1998 1.87 million t +9.3%
1999 1.45 million t -22.5%
2000 2.28 million t +57.4%
2001 1.64 million t -28.2%
2002 1.90 million t +15.9%
2003 7.49 million t +293.7%
2004 4.06 million t -45.8%
2005 2.89 million t -28.8%
2006 2.05 million t -29.0%
2007 3.13 million t +52.4%
2008 6.76 million t +116.3%
2009 3.85 million t -43.1%
2010 4.49 million t +16.7%
2011 2.24 million t -50.2%
2012 1.76 million t -21.3%
2013 1.95 million t +11.1%
2014 2.88 million t +47.4%
2015 2.11 million t -26.9%
2016 1.69 million t -19.6%
2017 1.41 million t -17.0%
2018 1.65 million t +17.1%
2019 2.14 million t +29.8%
2020 1.38 million t -35.5%
2021 789,161 t -42.7%
2022 943,909 t +19.6%
2023 2.20 million t +133.2%
2024 1.07 million t -51.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 2.17 million t 1.45 million t 2.47 million t 10
2000s 3.60 million t 1.64 million t 7.49 million t 10
2010s 2.23 million t 1.41 million t 4.49 million t 10
2020s 1.28 million t 789,161 t 2.20 million t 5

Countries ranked near China

  1. 49 Thailand 1.63 million t compare
  2. 50 Mongolia 1.09 million t compare
  3. 51 Guyana 1.08 million t compare
  4. 53 China, mainland 1.07 million t compare
  5. 54 Ukraine 1.07 million t compare
  6. 55 Guatemala 920,113 t compare

See the full ranking of 274 places →

More climate change data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is savanna fires — burning crop residues in China?
Savanna fires — burning crop residues in China was 1.07 million t in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest savanna fires — burning crop residues recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 7.49 million t in 2003.
What is the lowest savanna fires — burning crop residues recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 789,161 t in 2021.
How does China rank for savanna fires — burning crop residues?
China ranks 52nd out of 221 countries with data for 2024.
Is savanna fires — burning crop residues rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is down 62.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this China data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Savanna fires — Burning crop residues (Biomass burned, dry matter). 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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Savanna fires — Burning crop residues in China. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 08 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/savanna-fires-burning-crop-residues-biomass-burned-dry-matter-fao-tier-1/china/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/savanna-fires-burning-crop-residues-biomass-burned-dry-matter-fao-tier-1/china/">Savanna fires — Burning crop residues in China</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Savanna fires — Burning crop residues (Biomass burned, dry matter)
Unit
t
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
274 places, 9,364 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.