Wildfires are now destroying global forests at a rate that experts warn is unsustainable, with the area burned each year more than doubling over the past two decades. Driven by climate change, the crisis saw over 360 square kilometres of tree cover lost every single day in 2024, culminating in a record-breaking annual loss.
A Global Surge in Forest Flames
Research from the World Resources Institute (WRI) reveals a stark escalation. In 2024 alone, wildfires consumed approximately 135,000 square kilometres of forest – the most extreme year ever recorded. This follows a 24-year trend where fires have erased a staggering 1.5 million square kilometres of tree cover, an area comparable to Mongolia.
While the total area burned globally has fallen due to agricultural expansion in Africa, forests have become the new wildfire hotspot. Four of the five worst years for forest fires have occurred since 2020, with 2024 marking the first time major fires raged simultaneously in both tropical forests like the Amazon and vast boreal forests in regions such as Canada.
Regions on the Frontline
The maps, using data from the University of Maryland, highlight some of the world's hardest-hit nations.
Russia has endured three of its worst fire seasons since 2020, with 2021 being the most severe. About 45,000 km² burned, mainly in Siberia and the far east, with fires reaching the Arctic Circle's permafrost. Scientists warn thawing permafrost could cause an "abrupt increase" in future blazes.
Canada's 2023 fire season was catastrophic, burning 78,000 km². The resulting toxic smoke killed nine-year-old Carter Vigh and over 82,000 others, with pollution spreading as far as Europe. Fires reached previously unburnt boreal regions during temperatures up to 10°C above average.
In South America, 2024 was especially severe. Brazil lost 23,000 km² of forest, its second-worst year on record, with flames penetrating Indigenous territories. Extreme heat, drought, and illegal deforestation fuelled the crisis.
Australia's "Black Summer" of 2019-2020 saw millions of hectares burn, destroying over 3,000 homes, killing more than 30 people, and claiming an estimated three billion animals.
The Climate Change Feedback Loop
Experts are clear that climate change is the primary driver, creating hotter, drier conditions that extend fire seasons and fuel more extreme blazes. 2023 and 2024 were the two hottest years on record and also saw the most forest area burned.
"Boreal and temperate conifer forests are warming and drying faster than most other forests," said James MacCarthy, wildfire research manager at WRI. The natural defences of these ecosystems are now being overwhelmed.
This creates a vicious cycle. Forests are vital carbon sinks, but when they burn, they release stored carbon back into the atmosphere. In 2023 and 2024, forests absorbed only a quarter of the CO2 they typically do. Calum Cunningham from the University of Tasmania warned this could create a feedback loop: "more warming, worse fire weather, more fire."
Local Action Offers a Glimmer of Hope
While reducing global carbon emissions is crucial, local interventions can curb damage. In Bolivia, which suffered its worst fires on record in 2024, the Indigenous Territory of Charagua Iyambae largely escaped devastation. Through Indigenous-led governance, early warning systems, and practical fire-management – including rangers using satellite monitoring – small ignitions were quickly contained.
However, experts stress there is no room for complacency. As global temperatures continue to rise, longer and more intense fire seasons are expected, particularly in vulnerable boreal and temperate conifer forests. A combination of local action and global climate policy is needed to break the cycle.
