Forest fires are intensifying worldwide, with 2024 marking the most extreme wildfire season since records were taken. The warning comes as more than 400,000 hectares of forest burn across Victoria, Australia—the state’s worst fire emergency since the 2019-20 Black Summer fires—with climate scientists warning that the world is now losing forests to fire at an unsustainable pace. That is according to new data published in today’s Guardian, showing that wildfires are burning deeper into dense forests than ever before.
The research, published by the World Resources Institute (WRI), reveals that fires are now destroying more than twice as much tree cover as they did two decades ago. from the World Resources Institute (WRI) reveals that fires are now destroying more than twice as much tree cover as they did two decades ago. In 2024 alone, 135,000 km² of forest burned — an area larger than England. Yet the surge is concentrated in forests.
According to research from the University of Tasmania’s Fire Centre Research Hub — one of the world’s leading groups on long‑term global fire trends — shows that total global burned area has actually declined for decades as agricultural expansion slowed savanna fires, even as forest fires surged.
The shift is global in scale.
For the first time, major fires burned simultaneously across tropical rainforests, including the Amazon, and boreal forests in Canada and Russia. Russia has lost 623,208 km² of forest to fire since 2001, an area the size of France. Three of its worst seasons have occurred since 2020, with 2021 the most severe, when 45,000 km² burned across Siberia and the Far East. Flames pushed deep into permafrost regions inside the Arctic Circle, with satellites recording the northernmost wildfire ever observed. As permafrost thaws and soils dry, scientists warn of an “abrupt increase” in Arctic fire activity.
Meanwhile, Canada has lost 402,664 km² of forest since 2001 — roughly the size of Norway. Its 2023 season was the most destructive on record, with 78,000 km² burned and smoke drifting across continents. The toxic haze contributed to 82,000 premature deaths worldwide, with Europe absorbing one‑quarter of the mortality. Temperatures in the boreal north climbed 10°C above average, pushing fires into previously unburnt regions and overwhelming firefighting capacity.
Further south, Brazil has lost 129,007 km² of forest to fire since 2001. In 2024, 23,000 km² burned — the Amazon’s second‑worst fire year on record. The states of Pará, Rondônia and Mato Grosso were hit hardest, with flames penetrating Indigenous territories and protected areas. Extreme heat, El Niño‑driven drought and illegal deforestation combined to create explosive fire conditions.
Australia has lost 65,883 km² of forest since 2001 — a figure that does not include the current Victorian fires, which continue to expand. The legacy of the 2019–20 Black Summer remains stark: more than 3,000 homes destroyed, 30 lives lost and an estimated three billion animals killed.
Scientists warn that rising temperatures are changing fire behaviour.
The years 2023 and 2024 were both the hottest on record — and the years with the most forest area burned. Northern latitudes are heating faster than the global average, driving a surge in boreal fires: “Fire is a natural part of these ecosystems, but the traits that once helped them survive infrequent burns are now being overwhelmed as fires grow larger, more frequent, and more severe,” according to James MacCarthy of WRI’s Global Forest Watch, “Fires are increasingly burning in places that were historically too wet to ignite and rarely caught fire, like peat‑rich forests.”
The consequences extend far beyond the firegrounds. Forests normally act as carbon sinks, absorbing CO₂ and slowing global warming. But when they burn, they release centuries of stored carbon back into the atmosphere. In 2023 and 2024, forests absorbed only one‑quarter of the CO₂ they typically store. MacCarthy warns: “When these forests and peatlands burn, they release carbon that has been locked away in trees and soil for hundreds of years, accelerating climate change and setting the stage for more fire.” He noted that smoke from these fires can travel thousands of miles, “polluting the air for millions of people, while nearby communities face evacuations, health risks and mounting costs.”
In South America, Bolivia has lost 31,328 km² of forest to fire since 2001. Last year was its worst season on record, with more than 10,000 km² burned — double the previous high. Yet the Indigenous‑managed territory of Charagua Iyambae largely avoided catastrophe thanks to early‑warning systems, satellite monitoring and rapid‑response fire management. The 12,000 km² Ñembi Guasu protected area — home to jaguars, giant armadillos and tapirs — remained mostly intact. Even so, fire pressure is rising. In September, the territory declared a disaster after flames breached the protected area, only to be extinguished by rain.
Scientists warn that without decisive action, the world risks locking in a cycle of more fires, less carbon absorption and accelerating climate change. As Calum Cunningham of the University of Tasmania said: “Massive forest fire seasons threaten to reshape the atmosphere by releasing huge amounts of CO₂, which could create a feedback loop – more warming, worse fire weather, more fire. That’s the ultimate fear.”
