Savanna fires — Burning crop residues in Southern Africa
Southern Africa: Savanna fires — Burning crop residues was 48.35 million t in 2024. ▼ Falling
Savanna fires — Burning crop residues in Southern Africa, 1990–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in t.
Analysis
Southern Africa recorded 48.35 million t for savanna fires — burning crop residues in 2024.
That represents a change of down 69.2% on the previous year and down 12.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, savanna fires — burning crop residues in Southern Africa peaked at 269.45 million t in 2011 and was at its lowest, 26.22 million t, in 2019.
Southern Africa ranks 13th 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 — Burning crop residues in Southern Africa, year by year
| Year | t | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 100.88 million t | — |
| 1991 | 100.88 million t | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 100.88 million t | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 100.88 million t | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 100.88 million t | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 100.88 million t | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 116.04 million t | +15.0% |
| 1997 | 106.63 million t | -8.1% |
| 1998 | 106.98 million t | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 99.95 million t | -6.6% |
| 2000 | 98.18 million t | -1.8% |
| 2001 | 116.24 million t | +18.4% |
| 2002 | 126.93 million t | +9.2% |
| 2003 | 53.06 million t | -58.2% |
| 2004 | 55.34 million t | +4.3% |
| 2005 | 70.75 million t | +27.8% |
| 2006 | 99.90 million t | +41.2% |
| 2007 | 82.10 million t | -17.8% |
| 2008 | 139.51 million t | +69.9% |
| 2009 | 83.02 million t | -40.5% |
| 2010 | 182.20 million t | +119.5% |
| 2011 | 269.45 million t | +47.9% |
| 2012 | 160.39 million t | -40.5% |
| 2013 | 84.57 million t | -47.3% |
| 2014 | 55.28 million t | -34.6% |
| 2015 | 46.49 million t | -15.9% |
| 2016 | 37.29 million t | -19.8% |
| 2017 | 79.41 million t | +112.9% |
| 2018 | 52.62 million t | -33.7% |
| 2019 | 26.22 million t | -50.2% |
| 2020 | 81.73 million t | +211.7% |
| 2021 | 171.75 million t | +110.1% |
| 2022 | 113.82 million t | -33.7% |
| 2023 | 157.23 million t | +38.1% |
| 2024 | 48.35 million t | -69.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 103.49 million t | 99.95 million t | 116.04 million t | 10 |
| 2000s | 92.50 million t | 53.06 million t | 139.51 million t | 10 |
| 2010s | 99.39 million t | 26.22 million t | 269.45 million t | 10 |
| 2020s | 114.58 million t | 48.35 million t | 171.75 million t | 5 |
Countries ranked near Southern Africa
- 10 Central African Republic 74.80 million t compare
- 10 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 2.89 million t compare
- 11 Russian Federation 41.07 million t compare
- 11 Syrian Arab Republic 925,593 t compare
- 12 Mali 33.95 million t compare
- 12 Viet Nam 844,523 t compare
- 13 Sudan 28.32 million t compare
- 13 Melanesia 698,656 t compare
- 14 Chad 24.91 million t compare
- 14 Türkiye 248,271 t compare
- 15 Ghana 23.80 million t compare
- 15 Timor-Leste 17,695 t compare
- 16 Congo 23.00 million t compare
- 16 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 5,313 t compare
More climate change data for Southern Africa
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 739.86 million kg (2050)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is savanna fires — burning crop residues in Southern Africa?
- Savanna fires — burning crop residues in Southern Africa was 48.35 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 Southern Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 269.45 million t in 2011.
- What is the lowest savanna fires — burning crop residues recorded in Southern Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 26.22 million t in 2019.
- How does Southern Africa rank for savanna fires — burning crop residues?
- Southern Africa ranks 13th out of 31 groups with data for 2024.
- Is savanna fires — burning crop residues rising or falling in Southern Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.5%. 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 — 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).
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.