Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in India
India: Annual area burnt by wildfires by region was 5.30 million hectares in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
5.30 million hectares
Change on year
up 53.1%
World rank
15th
of 225 countries
All-time high
6.79 million hectares
in 2021
All-time low
2.09 million hectares
in 2002
Years of data
24
2002–2025
Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in India, 2002–2025
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
India recorded 5.30 million hectares for annual area burnt by wildfires by region in 2025.
The figure is up 53.1% on the previous year and up 37.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires by region in India peaked at 6.79 million hectares in 2021 and was at its lowest, 2.09 million hectares, in 2002.
India ranks 15th of 225 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in India, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 2.09 million hectares | — |
| 2003 | 2.86 million hectares | +36.9% |
| 2004 | 4.03 million hectares | +40.8% |
| 2005 | 3.36 million hectares | -16.6% |
| 2006 | 3.06 million hectares | -9.0% |
| 2007 | 3.77 million hectares | +23.4% |
| 2008 | 3.44 million hectares | -8.7% |
| 2009 | 5.64 million hectares | +63.8% |
| 2010 | 4.83 million hectares | -14.3% |
| 2011 | 4.35 million hectares | -10.0% |
| 2012 | 5.98 million hectares | +37.4% |
| 2013 | 4.58 million hectares | -23.4% |
| 2014 | 4.35 million hectares | -5.0% |
| 2015 | 3.86 million hectares | -11.3% |
| 2016 | 5.22 million hectares | +35.2% |
| 2017 | 5.18 million hectares | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 5.54 million hectares | +7.1% |
| 2019 | 4.83 million hectares | -12.9% |
| 2020 | 4.53 million hectares | -6.2% |
| 2021 | 6.79 million hectares | +49.8% |
| 2022 | 5.72 million hectares | -15.7% |
| 2023 | 4.05 million hectares | -29.3% |
| 2024 | 3.46 million hectares | -14.5% |
| 2025 | 5.30 million hectares | +53.1% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 5.30 million hectares is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 283,554 hectares, 18.7× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- India's 5.30 million hectares is above the median for South Asia, which is 152,816 hectares, 34.7× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.53 million hectares | 2.09 million hectares | 5.64 million hectares | 8 |
| 2010s | 4.87 million hectares | 3.86 million hectares | 5.98 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.97 million hectares | 3.46 million hectares | 6.79 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near India
More reference data data for India
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 20.88 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 68.88 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 246.78 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 15.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 246.78 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 70.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 19.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 309.05 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1,063 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 85.03 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires by region in India?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires by region in India was 5.30 million hectares in 2025, according to Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual area burnt by wildfires by region recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 6.79 million hectares in 2021.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires by region recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.09 million hectares in 2002.
- How does India rank for annual area burnt by wildfires by region?
- India ranks 15th out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires by region rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 37.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India data come from?
- The figures come from Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual area burnt by wildfires by region. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total land area burnt by wildfires each year, in hectares, across all land cover types.