Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Russia
Russia: Area burned by wildfires by land cover type was 1.16 million hectares in 2025. ▼ Falling
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Russia, 2002–2025
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
The most recent figure for area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Russia is 1.16 million hectares, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 41.5% on the previous year and down 56.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Russia peaked at 6.05 million hectares in 2003 and was at its lowest, 945,250 hectares, in 2013.
That places Russia 24th out of 225 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Russia, year by year
| Year | hectares | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 3.06 million hectares | — |
| 2003 | 6.05 million hectares | +97.5% |
| 2004 | 1.60 million hectares | -73.5% |
| 2005 | 3.00 million hectares | +87.4% |
| 2006 | 3.44 million hectares | +14.6% |
| 2007 | 3.06 million hectares | -10.9% |
| 2008 | 3.33 million hectares | +8.7% |
| 2009 | 2.20 million hectares | -34.0% |
| 2010 | 3.37 million hectares | +53.2% |
| 2011 | 2.77 million hectares | -17.8% |
| 2012 | 2.55 million hectares | -7.9% |
| 2013 | 945,250 hectares | -62.9% |
| 2014 | 3.70 million hectares | +291.5% |
| 2015 | 2.64 million hectares | -28.7% |
| 2016 | 1.84 million hectares | -30.1% |
| 2017 | 1.67 million hectares | -9.6% |
| 2018 | 1.46 million hectares | -12.1% |
| 2019 | 3.10 million hectares | +111.5% |
| 2020 | 2.86 million hectares | -7.8% |
| 2021 | 2.00 million hectares | -29.9% |
| 2022 | 1.75 million hectares | -12.5% |
| 2023 | 1.72 million hectares | -2.0% |
| 2024 | 1.99 million hectares | +15.8% |
| 2025 | 1.16 million hectares | -41.5% |
Russia compared with similar countries
- Russia's 1.16 million hectares is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 890.83 hectares, 1304.9× the median. (54 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Area burned by wildfires by land cover type 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.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | +291.5% | 945,250 hectares | 3.70 million hectares |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.22 million hectares | 1.60 million hectares | 6.05 million hectares | 8 |
| 2010s | 2.40 million hectares | 945,250 hectares | 3.70 million hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.91 million hectares | 1.16 million hectares | 2.86 million hectares | 6 |
Countries ranked near Russia
- 21 Central African Republic 1.62 million hectares compare
- 22 Democratic Republic of Congo 1.46 million hectares compare
- 23 Kazakhstan 1.39 million hectares compare
- 25 United States 1.13 million hectares compare
- 26 Argentina 1.12 million hectares compare
- 27 Niger 1.10 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 area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Russia?
- Area burned by wildfires by land cover type in Russia was 1.16 million hectares in 2025, according to Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in Russia?
- The highest recorded value was 6.05 million hectares in 2003.
- What is the lowest area burned by wildfires by land cover type recorded in Russia?
- The lowest recorded value was 945,250 hectares in 2013.
- How does Russia rank for area burned by wildfires by land cover type?
- Russia ranks 24th out of 225 countries with data for 2025.
- Is area burned by wildfires by land cover type rising or falling in Russia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 56.0%. 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 Area burned by wildfires by land cover type. 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
Area of shrubland and grassland burnt by wildfires each year, in hectares. Includes open and closed shrublands and grasslands without a significant tree cover.