Fires are now destroying more tropical forest than logging or farming

Tropical forests vanished at an unprecedented rate in 2024, with wildfires surpassing agriculture, logging, and mining as the primary driver. A total of 6.7 million hectares of old-growth tropical forest was lost, nearly double the amount in 2023.

The spike in forest fires was worsened by record global heat and the El Niño weather pattern. Droughts in Latin America triggered widespread fires from Bolivia to Brazil. The Congo Basin also recorded record losses, while Indonesia saw a decline in its pristine forest loss.

The rate of deforestation equated to 18 football fields of rainforest disappearing every minute. Fires accounted for nearly half of all tropical forest loss and emitted 4.1 gigatonnes of greenhouse gases, which is four times more than the annual output of the aviation industry.

Tropical forests are critical for storing carbon and regulating climate. Yet, degradation has made some areas net emitters of carbon. The World Economic Forum is addressing this crisis through the Global Wildfire Leadership Network and the Tropical Forest Alliance, which work to promote resilience and deforestation-free supply chains.

Watch the video to learn more about this growing threat and efforts to stop it.