Annual area burnt by wildfires in Mexico
Mexico: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 1.33 million hectares in 2026. ▼ Falling
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Mexico, 2012–2026
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
Mexico recorded 1.33 million hectares for annual area burnt by wildfires in 2026. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.
The figure is down 46.5% on the previous year and down 69.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in Mexico peaked at 6.17 million hectares in 2019 and was at its lowest, 1.33 million hectares, in 2026.
Mexico ranks 29th of 248 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Mexico, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 4.67 million hectares | — |
| 2013 | 5.85 million hectares | +25.3% |
| 2014 | 2.03 million hectares | -65.4% |
| 2015 | 3.09 million hectares | +52.7% |
| 2016 | 4.31 million hectares | +39.3% |
| 2017 | 6.14 million hectares | +42.5% |
| 2018 | 3.89 million hectares | -36.7% |
| 2019 | 6.17 million hectares | +58.6% |
| 2020 | 4.34 million hectares | -29.7% |
| 2021 | 4.45 million hectares | +2.6% |
| 2022 | 4.41 million hectares | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 4.54 million hectares | +3.0% |
| 2024 | 4.01 million hectares | -11.6% |
| 2025 | 2.49 million hectares | -38.1% |
| 2026 | 1.33 million hectares | -46.5% |
Mexico compared with similar countries
- Mexico's 1.33 million hectares is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 38,000 hectares, 35.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Mexico's 1.33 million hectares is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 12,198 hectares, 108.9× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 4.52 million hectares | 2.03 million hectares | 6.17 million hectares | 8 |
| 2020s | 3.65 million hectares | 1.33 million hectares | 4.54 million hectares | 7 |
Countries ranked near Mexico
More reference data data for Mexico
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.11 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 16.66 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 32.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.75 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 32.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 13.78 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 7.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 84.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 157.18 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 9.55 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires in Mexico?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires in Mexico was 1.33 million 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 Mexico?
- The highest recorded value was 6.17 million hectares in 2019.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Mexico?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.33 million hectares in 2026.
- How does Mexico rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
- Mexico ranks 29th out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in Mexico?
- Over the last ten years it is down 69.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mexico 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
Area burnt by wildfires in hectares. The 2026 data is incomplete and was last updated 18 September 2026.