Global Forest Cover Loss Due to Fire Over the Past 21 Years

Forest fires are increasingly widespread. This statement is reinforced by the World Resources Institute (WRI), which states that these disasters are burning almost twice as much tree cover today compared to 21 years ago.

The recently released WRI report is based on data from the latest research by University of Maryland researchers. The WRI research team calculated that forest fires are now causing the loss of over 3 million hectares of tree cover per year compared to 2001, an area roughly the size of Belgium.

Looking at the trend, the area of tree cover lost due to fires reached 2.52 million hectares in 2001. Although the following years fluctuated, the area of burned tree cover always exceeded that of 2001.

By 2011, the area burned reached 4.2 million hectares. Fires consumed vast amounts of tree cover after that year and consistently remained above 4 million hectares per year. The largest area burned reached 9.61 million hectares in 2016, the highest figure in the last 21 years.

(Read also: 10 Villages Indicated to Have Experienced the Largest Tree Cover Loss Following the Food Estate Program)

The next largest area burned occurred in 2021, destroying 9.34 million hectares of tree cover. WRI acknowledges this year as the worst. In 2022, the area burned decreased.

"Although down from the previous year, more than 6.7 million hectares of tree cover were lost due to forest fires in 2022, similar to other years in the last decade," WRI wrote in its report.

In 2023, the area burned is still being calculated. However, WRI states that the world has witnessed an increase in fire activity, especially with new records set due to major fires in Canada and Hawaii.

The data included relates only to forest fires. In addition to forest fires, WRI calculates tree cover loss due to non-fire causes, such as land clearing for other activities and logging, as well as natural damage from wind and river meandering.

WRI notes that a three-year moving average may represent a more accurate picture of data trends due to year-to-year variability. All figures are calculated with a minimum tree canopy density of 30%.

(Read also: Indonesia Lost 27.7 Million Hectares of Tree Cover in Two Decades)