Scientists explain why wealthy countries have wildfires more often
Despite one of the lowest global wildfire areas burned in two decades, 2025 became the costliest year on record for wildfire damage, according to a study led by the University of East Anglia, Qazinform News Agency reports.
According to the analysis, around 335 million hectares burned worldwide in 2025, 16% below the long-term average. Fire-related carbon emissions totaled 11 billion tons of CO2, making it the third-lowest year since 2002.
However, researchers stress that a relatively small burned area does not necessarily mean lower risk. A series of catastrophic wildfires across Canada, the United States, Europe and South Korea resulted in more than 90 deaths and forced over 300,000 people to evacuate.
The year 2025 also became the most expensive on record for insured wildfire losses. Wildfires accounted for 38% of all insured natural disaster losses worldwide.
Particularly destructive were the January Palisades and Eaton fires in California. The fires claimed 31 lives, destroyed nearly 12,000 homes and forced more than 150,000 residents to flee. Total losses were estimated at $140 billion, including approximately $40 billion in insured damages.
“2025 shows that a ‘quiet’ fire year globally can still be devastating. We are seeing a growing disconnect between total area burned and real-world impacts, with risk increasingly determined by fire location, intensity and exposure,” one of the study’s authors, Dr. Matthew Jones said.
The researchers also warn that a new pattern of wildfire risk is emerging. As fires in savannah ecosystems decline, increasingly severe and destructive wildfires are occurring in temperate and high-latitude regions, where fuel-rich forests, combined with droughts and heatwaves, create conditions for extreme fire events.
In Europe, severe drought and extreme heat fueled major wildfires across Mediterranean countries. The fires killed 28 people and forced more than 120,000 residents to evacuate.
Spain recorded its largest burned area since 2002, while France experienced its biggest wildfire since 1949.
The deadliest wildfire outbreak was recorded in South Korea, where 32 people died, more than 37,000 residents were displaced, and over 100,000 hectares were burned.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that over 1,000 residents were urged to evacuate due to wildfires in Japan’s Iwate Prefecture.
