Fires Double Tropical Primary Forest Loss in 2024

Primary forest loss hit record highs in 2024, driven largely by fires, according to data from the World Resources Institute’s Global Forest Review. Last year, the tropics lost 6.7 million hectares of primary rainforest, akin to an area nearly the size of Panama.

Primary tropical forests are areas of key importance for livelihoods, carbon storage, water provision and biodiversity. According to the forest monitoring platform, the loss of primary tropical forests in 2024 generated 3.1 gigatonnes (Gt) of greenhouse gas emissions, which is roughly equivalent to India's annual emissions from fossil fuels.

While fires are naturally occurring in some ecosystems, they are almost entirely human-caused in tropical forests and are often started to clear land for agriculture. WRI analysts explain that the particularly dry conditions of 2024, largely caused by climate change, led to particularly widespread fires.

The top countries for tropical primary forest loss in 2024 were Brazil, Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia and Peru.