logo
Amazon fires drive unprecedented global forest loss in 2024, report says

Amazon fires drive unprecedented global forest loss in 2024, report says

Indian Express21-05-2025

Massive fires fueled by climate change led global forest loss to smash records in 2024, according to a report issued on Wednesday.
Loss of tropical pristine forests alone reached 6.7 million hectares (16.6 million acres), an 80% spike compared to 2023 and an area roughly the size of Panama, mainly because Brazil, the host of the next global climate summit in November, struggled to contain fires in the Amazon amid the worst drought ever recorded in the rainforest. A myriad of other countries, including Bolivia and Canada, were also ravaged by wildfires.
It was the first time the annual report, issued by the World Resources Institute and the University of Maryland, showed fires as the leading cause of tropical forest loss, a grim milestone for a naturally humid ecosystem that is not supposed to burn.
'The signals in these data are particularly frightening,' said Matthew Hansen, the co-director of a lab at the University of Maryland that compiled and analyzed the data. 'The fear is that the climate signal is going to overtake our ability to respond effectively.'
Latin America was hit particularly hard, the report said, with the Amazon biome hitting its highest level of primary forest loss since 2016.
Brazil, which holds the largest share of the world's tropical forests, lost 2.8 million hectares (6.9 million acres), the most of any country. It was a reversal of the progress made in 2023 when President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office promising to protect the world's largest rainforest.
'This was unprecedented, which means we have to adapt all our policy to a new reality,' said Andre Lima, who oversees deforestation control policies for Brazil's Ministry of Environment, adding that fire, which was never among the leading causes of forest loss, is now a top priority for the government.
Bolivia overtook the Democratic Republic of Congo as the second country with the most tropical forest loss despite having less than half the amount of forest as the African nation, which also saw a spike in forest loss last year.
Bolivia's forest loss surged by 200% in 2024, with a drought, wildfires and a government-incentivized agricultural expansion as the leading causes. Across Latin America, the report noted similar trends in Mexico, Peru, Nicaragua, and Guatemala.
Conflicts in Colombia and the Democratic Republic of Congo also boosted deforestation rates, as armed groups used up natural resources.
Outside the tropics, boreal forests, which evolved with seasonal fires, also posted record-high tree loss in 2024, with Canada and Russia each losing 5.2 million hectares (12.8 million acres) in 2024 as wildfires got out of control.
Southeast Asia bucked the global trend with Malaysia, Laos, and Indonesia all posting double-digit decreases in primary forest loss, as domestic conservation policy, combined with efforts by communities and the private sector, continued to effectively contain fires and agricultural expansion.
Another outlier was the Charagua Iyambae Indigenous territory in southern Bolivia, which was able to keep the country's record fires at bay through land-use policies and early warning systems.
Rod Taylor, the global director for forests at the WRI, said that as leaders descend on the Amazonian city of Belem for the next climate summit, he would like to see countries make progress in introducing better funding mechanisms for conservation.
'At the moment,' he said, 'there's more money to be paid by chopping forests down than keeping them standing.'

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Irregular migrant crossings into EU drop 20% in 2025: Frontex
Irregular migrant crossings into EU drop 20% in 2025: Frontex

Time of India

time27 minutes ago

  • Time of India

Irregular migrant crossings into EU drop 20% in 2025: Frontex

The number of irregular migrant crossings into the European Union dropped by 20 percent in the first five months of the year, the EU's border agency said Wednesday. Warsaw-based Frontex said that a total of 63,700 crossings were detected this year, adding that the main nationalities were Afghan, Bangladeshi and Malian. The biggest decreases in irregular crossings were seen in the Western Balkans (minus 56 percent), the western African route (minus 35 percent) and the eastern Mediterranean (minus 30 percent). Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Don't Forget To Block Ads Before Wednesday Lifestyle Tech Tips Click Here Undo There was also a seven percent decrease in migrant crossings from Belarus into Poland and the Baltics to 5,062 crossings, Frontex said. But it pointed to a slight increase of seven percent in the number of migrants crossing the central Mediterranean towards Italy. (Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates) Frontex also said that the number of migrants attempting to cross into Britain via the Channel increased by 17 percent to 25,540 compared to the first five months of 2024. "Smuggling networks operating in the area are adapting, using simultaneous departures to increase the number of successful crossings," it said. Live Events RECOMMENDED STORIES FOR YOU Italy votes on citizenship reforms that could open doors for immigrants UK's visa crackdown leaves city of London immigrants in limbo Irregular migration has become a political flashpoint across Europe, as seen most recently in the Polish presidential election on June 1 which was won by a nationalist promising to crack down on immigration. Irregular border crossings detected into the European Union were down 38 percent to 239,000 last year after an almost 10-year peak in 2023, according to EU border agency Frontex. But, led by hawks including Italy and Denmark, EU leaders called in October for urgent new legislation to increase and speed up returns and for the commission to assess "innovative" ways to counter irregular migration.

Irregular migrant crossings into EU drop 20% in 2025:Frontex
Irregular migrant crossings into EU drop 20% in 2025:Frontex

Time of India

time32 minutes ago

  • Time of India

Irregular migrant crossings into EU drop 20% in 2025:Frontex

Representative AI image The number of irregular migrant crossings into the European Union dropped by 20 percent in the first five months of the year, the EU's border agency said Wednesday. Warsaw-based Frontex said that a total of 63,700 crossings were detected this year, adding that the main nationalities were Afghan, Bangladeshi and Malian. The biggest decreases in irregular crossings were seen in the Western Balkans (minus 56 percent), the western African route (minus 35 percent) and the eastern Mediterranean (minus 30 percent). There was also a seven percent decrease in migrant crossings from Belarus into Poland and the Baltics to 5,062 crossings, Frontex said. But it pointed to a slight increase of seven percent in the number of migrants crossing the central Mediterranean towards Italy. Frontex also said that the number of migrants attempting to cross into Britain via the Channel increased by 17 percent to 25,540 compared to the first five months of 2024. "Smuggling networks operating in the area are adapting, using simultaneous departures to increase the number of successful crossings," it said. Irregular migration has become a political flashpoint across Europe, as seen most recently in the Polish presidential election on June 1 which was won by a nationalist promising to crack down on immigration. Irregular border crossings detected into the European Union were down 38 percent to 239,000 last year after an almost 10-year peak in 2023, according to EU border agency Frontex. But, led by hawks including Italy and Denmark, EU leaders called in October for urgent new legislation to increase and speed up returns and for the commission to assess "innovative" ways to counter irregular migration.

Irregular migrant crossings into EU drop 20% in 2025: Frontex
Irregular migrant crossings into EU drop 20% in 2025: Frontex

Economic Times

time33 minutes ago

  • Economic Times

Irregular migrant crossings into EU drop 20% in 2025: Frontex

Live Events The number of irregular migrant crossings into the European Union dropped by 20 percent in the first five months of the year, the EU's border agency said Frontex said that a total of 63,700 crossings were detected this year, adding that the main nationalities were Afghan, Bangladeshi and biggest decreases in irregular crossings were seen in the Western Balkans (minus 56 percent), the western African route (minus 35 percent) and the eastern Mediterranean (minus 30 percent).There was also a seven percent decrease in migrant crossings from Belarus into Poland and the Baltics to 5,062 crossings, Frontex said. But it pointed to a slight increase of seven percent in the number of migrants crossing the central Mediterranean towards Italy.(Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates)Frontex also said that the number of migrants attempting to cross into Britain via the Channel increased by 17 percent to 25,540 compared to the first five months of 2024. "Smuggling networks operating in the area are adapting, using simultaneous departures to increase the number of successful crossings," it said. Irregular migration has become a political flashpoint across Europe, as seen most recently in the Polish presidential election on June 1 which was won by a nationalist promising to crack down on immigration. Irregular border crossings detected into the European Union were down 38 percent to 239,000 last year after an almost 10-year peak in 2023, according to EU border agency led by hawks including Italy and Denmark, EU leaders called in October for urgent new legislation to increase and speed up returns and for the commission to assess "innovative" ways to counter irregular migration.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store