The world lost a record amount of forests last year. The biggest factor for the unprecedented losses were wildfires that raged around the world.
According to the annual update by the University of Maryland and the World Resources Institute, pristine rainforests alone lost 17 million acres, which was nearly twice as much as in the previous year. Overall, the world lost the equivalent of 18 soccer fields of forested land every minute last year.
Over time, agriculture has been the primary cause of forest losses, but last year, for the first time since record-keeping began, fires were the leading cause, accounting for nearly half of all the destruction.
With respect to the climate, wildfires emitted over 4 billion tons of greenhouse gasses, which is more than four times the amount generated by air travel in 2023.
Land clearing for agriculture, cattle farming, and other purposes was by no means in decline last year. In fact, it rose by 14%, which was the sharpest increase in almost a decade. This trend could permanently transform critical natural areas, unleashing large amounts of carbon, intensifying climate change, and fueling even more extreme fires.
Forests are a major contributor to the natural storing of carbon dioxide. Intact tropical forests are especially effective at storing carbon.
Brazil has the largest area of tropical forest and it accounted for 42% of all tropical primary forest loss in 2024. Fires fueled by the worst drought on record caused two thirds of that loss, more than a sixfold increase over the previous year.
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Global Forest Loss Hit a Record Last Year as Fires Raged
Photo, posted September 12, 2024, courtesy of the USDA Forest Service via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
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