Savanna fires — Emissions in Africa

Africa: Savanna fires — Emissions was 2,963 kt in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
2,963 kt
Change on year
down 1.5%
Rank
3rd
of 32 groups
All-time high
3,874 kt
in 2005
All-time low
2,685 kt
in 2019
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Savanna fires — Emissions in Africa, 1990–2023

01.0k2.0k3.0k4.0k1990200620231990: 3.3k kt1991: 3.3k kt1992: 3.3k kt1993: 3.3k kt1994: 3.3k kt1995: 3.3k kt1996: 3.4k kt1997: 3.3k kt1998: 3.7k kt1999: 3.4k kt2000: 3.5k kt2001: 3.0k kt2002: 3.4k kt2003: 3.6k kt2004: 3.5k kt2005: 3.9k kt2006: 3.4k kt2007: 3.6k kt2008: 3.6k kt2009: 3.3k kt2010: 3.6k kt2011: 3.7k kt2012: 3.4k kt2013: 3.3k kt2014: 3.0k kt2015: 3.1k kt2016: 3.2k kt2017: 3.0k kt2018: 2.9k kt2019: 2.7k kt2020: 3.0k kt2021: 3.1k kt2022: 3.0k kt2023: 3.0k kt

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

Analysis

In 2023, savanna fires — emissions in Africa stood at 2,963 kt.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.5% on the previous year and down 9.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, savanna fires — emissions in Africa peaked at 3,874 kt in 2005 and was at its lowest, 2,685 kt, in 2019.

That places Africa 3rd out of 32 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.

Savanna fires — Emissions in Africa, year by year

Annual values for Savanna fires — Emissions (CH4) in Africa, 1990 to 2023.
Year kt Change
1990 3,305 kt
1991 3,305 kt +0.0%
1992 3,305 kt +0.0%
1993 3,305 kt +0.0%
1994 3,305 kt +0.0%
1995 3,305 kt +0.0%
1996 3,375 kt +2.1%
1997 3,287 kt -2.6%
1998 3,702 kt +12.6%
1999 3,389 kt -8.4%
2000 3,490 kt +3.0%
2001 3,014 kt -13.6%
2002 3,402 kt +12.9%
2003 3,618 kt +6.3%
2004 3,504 kt -3.1%
2005 3,874 kt +10.5%
2006 3,446 kt -11.0%
2007 3,606 kt +4.7%
2008 3,631 kt +0.7%
2009 3,267 kt -10.0%
2010 3,569 kt +9.2%
2011 3,745 kt +4.9%
2012 3,421 kt -8.7%
2013 3,256 kt -4.8%
2014 2,991 kt -8.2%
2015 3,061 kt +2.4%
2016 3,198 kt +4.5%
2017 3,000 kt -6.2%
2018 2,880 kt -4.0%
2019 2,685 kt -6.8%
2020 3,001 kt +11.8%
2021 3,116 kt +3.8%
2022 3,008 kt -3.5%
2023 2,963 kt -1.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 3,358 kt 3,287 kt 3,702 kt 10
2000s 3,485 kt 3,014 kt 3,874 kt 10
2010s 3,181 kt 2,685 kt 3,745 kt 10
2020s 3,022 kt 2,963 kt 3,116 kt 4

Countries ranked near Africa

  1. 1 OECD 1,973 kt compare
  2. 2 Australia and New Zealand 1,848 kt compare
  3. 3 Australia 1,848 kt compare
  4. 4 Angola 484.23 kt compare
  5. 5 Sudan (former) 439.96 kt compare
  6. 6 South Sudan 309.85 kt compare

See the full ranking of 275 places →

More climate change data for Africa

All data for Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is savanna fires — emissions in Africa?
Savanna fires — emissions in Africa was 2,963 kt in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest savanna fires — emissions recorded in Africa?
The highest recorded value was 3,874 kt in 2005.
What is the lowest savanna fires — emissions recorded in Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 2,685 kt in 2019.
How does Africa rank for savanna fires — emissions?
Africa ranks 3rd out of 32 groups with data for 2023.
Is savanna fires — emissions rising or falling in Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 9.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Africa data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Savanna fires — Emissions (CH4). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Savanna fires — Emissions in Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 27 August 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/savanna-fires-emissions-ch4-fao-tier-1-2/africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Savanna fires — Emissions (CH4)
Unit
kt
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
275 places, 9,129 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions Totals summarizes the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions disseminated in the FAOSTAT Climate Change domains of emissions from agrifood systems. Data are computed following the Tier 1 methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National greenhouse gas (GHG) Inventories (IPCC, 1996; 1997; 2000; 2002; 2006; 2014). Emissions from other economic sectors as defined by the IPCC are also disseminated in the domain for completeness. Methodological details can be found at: https://files-faostat.fao.org/production/GT/GT_en.pdf