Annual area burnt by wildfires in Russia
Russia: Annual area burnt by wildfires was 7.50 million hectares in 2026. ▼ Falling
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Russia, 2012–2026
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2026, annual area burnt by wildfires in Russia stood at 7.50 million hectares.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 7.4% on the previous year and down 51.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual area burnt by wildfires in Russia peaked at 25.23 million hectares in 2012 and was at its lowest, 6.98 million hectares, in 2025.
That places Russia 5th out of 248 countries with data for 2026, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Annual area burnt by wildfires in Russia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 25.23 million hectares | — |
| 2013 | 10.34 million hectares | -59.0% |
| 2014 | 19.73 million hectares | +90.7% |
| 2015 | 14.16 million hectares | -28.2% |
| 2016 | 15.39 million hectares | +8.7% |
| 2017 | 11.42 million hectares | -25.8% |
| 2018 | 14.28 million hectares | +25.0% |
| 2019 | 16.18 million hectares | +13.3% |
| 2020 | 16.40 million hectares | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 17.34 million hectares | +5.8% |
| 2022 | 10.55 million hectares | -39.2% |
| 2023 | 10.32 million hectares | -2.1% |
| 2024 | 12.33 million hectares | +19.4% |
| 2025 | 6.98 million hectares | -43.4% |
| 2026 | 7.50 million hectares | +7.4% |
Russia compared with similar countries
- Russia's 7.50 million hectares is above the median for high income countries, which is 273 hectares, 27474.5× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Russia's 7.50 million hectares is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 3,034 hectares, 2472.6× the median. (56 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 15.84 million hectares | 10.34 million hectares | 25.23 million hectares | 8 |
| 2020s | 11.63 million hectares | 6.98 million hectares | 17.34 million hectares | 7 |
Countries ranked near Russia
- 2 Angola 16.98 million hectares compare
- 3 Australia 14.92 million hectares compare
- 4 Zambia 9.30 million hectares compare
- 6 South Sudan 7.17 million hectares compare
- 7 Mozambique 6.35 million hectares compare
- 8 Central African Republic 6.02 million hectares compare
More reference data data for Russia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 9.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 4.11 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 26.58 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.94 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 26.58 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 31.32 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 19.38 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 18.16 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 129.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 26.88 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual area burnt by wildfires in Russia?
- Annual area burnt by wildfires in Russia was 7.50 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 Russia?
- The highest recorded value was 25.23 million hectares in 2012.
- What is the lowest annual area burnt by wildfires recorded in Russia?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.98 million hectares in 2025.
- How does Russia rank for annual area burnt by wildfires?
- Russia ranks 5th out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
- Is annual area burnt by wildfires rising or falling in Russia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 51.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Russia 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.
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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.