Tropical Forests See Smaller Losses in 2025

Wildfires Still a Major Threat

A firefighter in Brazil's Mato Grosso state. Pexels

Global tropical forests are under intense pressure from a combination of agricultural expansion, wildfires, and land-use change. The latest analysis from the World Resources Institute’s Global Forest Review and Global Forest Watch platform shows that while some recent progress has been made, overall trends remain far off track from global goals to halt deforestation by 2030. Tropical forests are critical carbon sinks, biodiversity reservoirs, and sources of livelihoods, yet they remain vulnerable to climate change and economic pressures, with around 94% of deforestation occurring in these forests.

Key Data Points

• An estimated 4.3 million hectares (10.6 million acres) of tropical primary forest were lost in 2025. This was down 36% from 2024’s record high losses.

• Much of the 2025 reduction was due to a 42% decline in Brazil, which reached the “lowest level of non-fire primary forest loss on record.” However, Brazil still had the largest area of tropical rainforest loss, given the size of its forests.

• Forest loss in 2025 equaled more than 11 soccer fields per minute, highlighting the continued rapid pace of deforestation. 

• Wildfire data from 2025 was incomplete, but in 2024, fires were responsible for nearly half of tropical forest loss. That marked the first time fires overtook agriculture as the leading driver of forest loss; prior to 2024, fires accounted for about 20% of losses.

• Wildfire-driven forest loss in 2024 released 4.1 gigatons of greenhouse gases, more than four times the emissions from all global air travel in 2023. 

• Despite recent improvements, tropical forest loss in 2025 remains 46% higher than a decade ago, showing that gains are fragile and uneven.