RELEASE: Global Forest Loss Shatters Records in 2024, Fueled by Massive Fires

https://www.wri.org/news/release-global-forest-loss-shatters-records-2024-fueled-massive-fires New data shows fires triggered unprecedented global forest loss in 2024, releasing more than four times the emissions from all air travel in 2023 — with devastating impacts on people and the climate, according to Global Forest Watch's annual analysis WASHINGTON D.C. (May 21, 2025) — Global forest loss surged to record highs in 2024, driven by a catastrophic rise in fires, according to new data from the University of Maryland’s GLAD Lab, made available on World Resources Institute’s Global Forest Watch platform. Loss of tropical primary forests alone reached 6.7 million hectares — nearly twice as much as in 2023 and an area nearly the size of Panama, at the rate of 18 soccer fields every minute.