Published 2026-05-31 · data 2010 · index of global burned area (2000s baseline)
Burned area is climbing in some forests
Climate and fuels lengthen fire seasons. Not every biome burns more — but humans feel the smoke.
Fire seasons are stretching longer, and the smoke doesn't stay in the forest. In this illustrative index of global burned area, 58% sits above the 2001–2010 average — above-average burning now makes up the majority of the record. Not every biome burns more, but people far from the flames still breathe the smoke.
1 cell = 0.1 index of global burned area (2000s baseline) (0.1% of burned area trend) · 1,000 cells
Context
The grid renders an illustrative index of global burned area against a 2000s baseline: 58% of the index sits above the 2001–2010 average, and 42% at or below it. It is a stylized picture of a trend, not a count of hectares burned.
The Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS), a joint initiative of the GEO and Copernicus Work Programs funded by the European Commission, brings together fire danger forecasts, burnt-area statistics, and country profiles covering 2002–2019. It builds on the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) and supports wildfire management from national to global scales.
GWIS notes that mapped fires can include blazes set intentionally for vegetation management, and regional efforts such as the EU's fire-management partnership with Latin America and the Caribbean underline how uneven fire regimes are. A rising global index can coexist with regions that burn less even as others burn more — and the smoke crosses borders either way.
FAO / Global Wildfire Information System: rising trend in forest fire regions, illustrative index.
Share and export
Credit this grid as Inagrid — https://inagrid.com/e/2026-05-31-wildfire-area-rise