Annual number of wildfires in Russia

Russia: Annual number of wildfires was 12,133 wildfires in 2026. ▼ Falling

Latest (2026)
12,133 wildfires
Change on year
down 1.6%
World rank
11th
of 248 countries
All-time high
47,976 wildfires
in 2014
All-time low
12,133 wildfires
in 2026
Years of data
15
2012–2026

Annual number of wildfires in Russia, 2012–2026

10.0k20.0k30.0k40.0k50.0k2012201920262012: 42.6k wildfires2013: 23.6k wildfires2014: 48.0k wildfires2015: 33.8k wildfires2016: 26.1k wildfires2017: 28.9k wildfires2018: 29.2k wildfires2019: 31.9k wildfires2020: 33.9k wildfires2021: 25.8k wildfires2022: 24.2k wildfires2023: 19.2k wildfires2024: 15.6k wildfires2025: 12.3k wildfires2026: 12.1k wildfires

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

Analysis

In 2026, annual number of wildfires in Russia stood at 12,133 wildfires. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.

That represents a change of down 1.6% on the previous year and down 53.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual number of wildfires in Russia peaked at 47,976 wildfires in 2014 and was at its lowest, 12,133 wildfires, in 2026.

That places Russia 11th 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 number of wildfires in Russia, year by year

Annual values for Annual number of wildfires in Russia, 2012 to 2026.
Year wildfires Change
2012 42,615 wildfires
2013 23,597 wildfires -44.6%
2014 47,976 wildfires +103.3%
2015 33,784 wildfires -29.6%
2016 26,086 wildfires -22.8%
2017 28,854 wildfires +10.6%
2018 29,233 wildfires +1.3%
2019 31,950 wildfires +9.3%
2020 33,860 wildfires +6.0%
2021 25,810 wildfires -23.8%
2022 24,179 wildfires -6.3%
2023 19,173 wildfires -20.7%
2024 15,613 wildfires -18.6%
2025 12,332 wildfires -21.0%
2026 12,133 wildfires -1.6%

Russia compared with similar countries

  • Russia's 12,133 wildfires is above the median for high income countries, which is 1 wildfires, 12133.0× the median. (85 countries reporting)
  • Russia's 12,133 wildfires is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 11 wildfires, 1103.0× the median. (56 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Annual number of wildfires in Russia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2014 +103.3% 23,597 wildfires 47,976 wildfires

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 33,012 wildfires 23,597 wildfires 47,976 wildfires 8
2020s 20,443 wildfires 12,133 wildfires 33,860 wildfires 7

Countries ranked near Russia

  1. 8 Brazil 14,348 wildfires compare
  2. 9 India 13,597 wildfires compare
  3. 10 Central African Republic 12,766 wildfires compare
  4. 12 Myanmar 11,675 wildfires compare
  5. 13 Guinea 10,104 wildfires compare
  6. 14 Tanzania 8,502 wildfires compare

See the full ranking of 248 places →

More reference data data for Russia

All data for Russia →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual number of wildfires in Russia?
Annual number of wildfires in Russia was 12,133 wildfires in 2026, according to Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest annual number of wildfires recorded in Russia?
The highest recorded value was 47,976 wildfires in 2014.
What is the lowest annual number of wildfires recorded in Russia?
The lowest recorded value was 12,133 wildfires in 2026.
How does Russia rank for annual number of wildfires?
Russia ranks 11th out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
Is annual number of wildfires rising or falling in Russia?
Over the last ten years it is down 53.5%. 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 number of wildfires. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Annual number of wildfires in Russia. Statizoid, drawing on Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/annual-number-of-fires/russian-federation/

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About this data

Indicator
Annual number of wildfires
Unit
wildfires
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

Number of wildfires. The 2026 data is incomplete and was last updated 18 September 2026.