Weather & Science
Global Forest Loss Tops Record as Wildfires Drive Destruction
Unprecedented temperatures are fueling fires. “It’s a global red alert.”
Smoke rises from a fire in the Amazon rainforest near the city of Labrea, Amazonas state, Brazil in September 2024.
Photographer: Michael Dantas/AFP/Getty ImagesTakeaways by Bloomberg AI
Global loss of tropical and boreal forests surged to a record high last year as unprecedented temperatures fueled fires, releasing more than four times the emissions of all air travel in 2023.
That’s according to the latest annual assessment by Global Forest Watch, a platform run by the nonprofit World Resources Institute, which drew on data from the University of Maryland.