New forest loss data has revealed that in 2024, wildfires have overtaken deforestation activities, such as industrial logging, as the primary reason behind forest losses.
Staggering forest losses in 2024
The data produced by the University of Maryland’s Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD), and published by Global Forest Watch (GFW), part of the World Resources Institute (WRI), showed a record-breaking loss of 6.7 million hectares of primary rainforest in the tropics alone, equivalent to the size of Panama. Extensive fires have primarily driven this loss, which is the highest in any year over the past two decades.
The GLAD data shows that tropical primary forests were lost at a rate of 18 football fields per minute, a doubling compared to 2023 data.
The forests in the tropics are among the most important ecosystems in the world, as they play a critical role in sustaining livelihoods, storing carbon, providing water, and supporting biodiversity, among many other benefits.
The impacts of the 2024 forest losses
The 2024 loss corresponds to a staggering 3.1 gigatons (Gt) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which compares to slightly more than India’s annual fossil fuel CO2 emissions.
In 2024, fires burned five times the amount of forest they did in 2023.
While fires can occur naturally, the researchers stated that in tropical forests, they are almost entirely caused by humans, through activities such as land clearing for agricultural purposes.
As 2024 was the hottest year on record, fuelled by the continued burning of fossil fuels, scientists say that climate change, as well as the El Niño weather phenomenon, were the most significant contributors.
2024 forest losses have the most impact on South America
South America was the most impacted country, and the 2024 loss reversed the declines seen in Brazil and Colombia in 2023.
Forests can recover following fires if given the space, care and resources. However, in many tropical forests, the impacts of climate change, desertification, the conversion of cleared land to agriculture make this challenge even greater, while also increasing the risk of further fires.
Forest losses unrelated to forest fires also increased by 14% between 2023 and 2024, driven primarily by deforestation and land-clearing activities. This corresponds to the largest factor in primary tropical forest loss over the past 24 years. However, as the GLAD data revealed in 2024, this trend shifted to wildfires.
2024 forest loss outside the tropics
While tropical forest losses dominate the picture, it doesn’t mean there weren’t forest losses outside the tropics.
Due to extreme wildfires in boreal regions such as Canada and Russia, record-high losses were also recorded.
In the boreal regions, fires have been larger, more intense and longer-lasting. Additionally, research has shown that boreal forests are becoming increasingly vulnerable to climate impacts, such as drought and forest fires. This creates a feedback loop of worsening fires and increased emissions.
The extreme fires in Eastern Siberia accounted for almost the entire loss in Russia.
While Canada experienced less devastation from wildfires than in the 2023 season, the 2024 wildfires, which mainly burned in Western Canada, resulted in double the amount of fire-driven loss as in recent years.
However, the likelihood of recovering lost boreal forests is higher, as there is no risk of it being converted into agricultural land.
The countries bucking the trend
Some countries were bucking the overall negative trend.
In both Indonesia and Malaysia, fewer primary forests were lost in 2024 compared to 2023. It shows that significant improvements have been made, as their loss rates are now well below what they were a decade ago.
Compared to 2023, Malaysia experienced a 13% reduction in primary forest losses.
The efforts made by the government to reduce the huge forest losses experienced since the 1970s appear to be paying off.
Alarmingly off track, halting forest losses
While Global Forest Loss monitors all the world’s forests, the emphasis is on tropical forests, as this is where 94% of deforestation, or human-caused long-term removal of forests, occurs. Additionally, tropical forests are especially important for biodiversity, carbon storage, and the regulation of regional and local climates.
Even though there were some bright spots, the overall trend is heading in the wrong direction.
The scientists voice concerns that we are alarmingly off track from the commitment signed by 140 world leaders in 2021 at the COP26 UN climate summit, which pledged to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030.
Today, 17 of the 20 countries with the most significant areas of tropical primary forests have higher forest losses than in 2021, the year the agreement was signed.
The WRI calls for greater political will and a more dedicated focus on climate adaptation to initiate the reversal of forest losses.
Anders Lorenzen is the founding Editor of A greener life, a greener world.
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