Annual area burnt by wildfires in Ireland

Ireland: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 5,655 hectares in 2026. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2026)
5,655 hectares
Change on year
down 13.6%
Rank
113th
of 248 regions
All-time high
17,250 hectares
in 2015
All-time low
208 hectares
in 2024
Years of data
15
2012–2026

Annual area burnt by wildfires in Ireland, 2012–2026

05.0k10.0k15.0k2012201920262012: 3.1k hectares2013: 7.0k hectares2014: 1.1k hectares2015: 17.2k hectares2016: 2.6k hectares2017: 9.5k hectares2018: 4.3k hectares2019: 3.1k hectares2020: 3.9k hectares2021: 3.7k hectares2022: 4.0k hectares2023: 1.3k hectares2024: 208 hectares2025: 6.5k hectares2026: 5.7k hectares

Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.

Analysis

Ireland recorded 5,655 hectares for annual area burnt by wildfires in 2026.

That represents a change of down 13.6% on the previous year and up 120.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in Ireland peaked at 17,250 hectares in 2015 and was at its lowest, 208 hectares, in 2024.

That places Ireland 113th out of 248 regions with data for 2026, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 5,986 hectares 1,078 hectares 17,250 hectares 8
2020s 3,620 hectares 208 hectares 6,543 hectares 7

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 110 Sri Lanka 6,342 hectares compare
  2. 111 Haiti 6,269 hectares compare
  3. 112 Germany 6,045 hectares compare
  4. 114 Reunion 5,475 hectares compare
  5. 115 Morocco 5,089 hectares compare
  6. 116 Saudi Arabia 4,531 hectares compare

See the full ranking of 248 places →

More reference data data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual area burnt by wildfires in Ireland?
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Ireland was 5,655 hectares in 2026, according to Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 17,250 hectares in 2015.
What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 208 hectares in 2024.
How does Ireland rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
Ireland ranks 113th out of 248 regions with data for 2026.
Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is up 120.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Ireland 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. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Annual area burnt by wildfires
Unit
hectares
Source
Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
248 places, 3,720 data points, 2012–2026
Last refreshed

Area burnt by wildfires in hectares. The 2026 data is incomplete and was last updated 07 August 2026.