Where The World Is Burning In 2026

Where The World Is Burning In 2026 As of August 1, 2026, wildfires and landscape fires have burned 112.3 million hectares of land across the globe, an area roughly the size of South Africa. This visualization, via Visual Capitalist's Sofie Gilbert, uses data from the Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS) via Our World in Data to show where that burning is concentrated in 2026 as of August 1. The data includes prescribed burns, agricultural burns, and uncontrolled wildfires. Africa Is the Epicenter of Global Fire Activity More than half of the world’s burned land so far in 2026 is in Africa. The data table below shows the land area burned for every country as of August 1, 2026: Rank Country or Territory Area Burned in Hectares (YTD to Aug 1, 2026) Share Region 1 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of Congo 13,611,126 12.1% Africa 2 🇦🇺 Australia 11,801,650 10.5% Oceania 3 🇦🇴 Angola 7,473,034 6.7% Africa 4 🇸🇸 South Sudan 6,955,022 6.2% Africa 5 🇨🇫 Central African Republic 6,017,881 5.4% Africa 6 🇲🇲 Myanmar 4,325,702 3.9% Asia 7 🇮🇳 India 4,029,704 3.6% Asia 8 🇷🇺 Russia 3,335,029 3.0% Europe 9 🇬🇳 Guinea 3,250,992 2.9% Africa 10 🇿🇲 Zambia 3,213,687 2.9% Africa 11 🇻🇪 Venezuela 2,977,466 2.7% South America 12 🇳🇬 Nigeria 2,807,200 2.5% Africa 13 🇹🇭 Thailand 2,669,550 2.4% Asia 14 🇱🇦 Laos 2,641,321 2.4% Asia 15 🇺🇸 United States 2,371,207 2.1% North America 16 🇨🇳 China 2,265,057 2.0% Asia 17 🇨🇦 Canada 2,031,754 1.8% North America 18 🇧🇷 Brazil 2,030,209 1.8% South America 19 🇪🇹 Ethiopia 1,851,131 1.6% Africa 20 🇬🇭 Ghana 1,763,395 1.6% Africa 21 🇰🇭 Cambodia 1,525,312 1.4% Asia 22 🇲🇱 Mali 1,490,698 1.3% Africa 23 🇨🇲 Cameroon 1,435,373 1.3% Africa 24 🇹🇩 Chad 1,309,155 1.2% Africa 25 🇲🇽 Mexico 1,264,823 1.1% North America 26 🇸🇩 Sudan 1,203,158 1.1% Africa 27 🇸🇳 Senegal 1,187,591 1.1% Africa 28 🇹🇿 Tanzania 1,048,663 0.9% Africa 29 🇨🇴 Colombia 891,985 0.8% South America 30 🇲🇿 Mozambique 787,066 0.7% Africa 31 🇿🇦 South Africa 784,647 0.7% Africa 32 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone 731,535 0.7% Africa 33 🇲🇬 Madagascar 687,086 0.6% Africa 34 🇨🇬 Congo 677,354 0.6% Africa 35 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso 553,719 0.5% Africa 36 🇧🇴 Bolivia 546,490 0.5% South America 37 🇦🇷 Argentina 545,304 0.5% South America 38 🇺🇬 Uganda 519,601 0.5% Africa 39 🇮🇩 Indonesia 488,365 0.4% Asia 40 🇨🇮 Cote d'Ivoire 451,527 0.4% Africa 41 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan 429,520 0.4% Asia 42 🇵🇾 Paraguay 405,669 0.4% South America 43 🇧🇯 Benin 343,416 0.3% Africa 44 🇭🇳 Honduras 320,884 0.3% North America 45 🇨🇱 Chile 304,983 0.3% South America 46 🇻🇳 Vietnam 283,638 0.3% Asia 47 🇵🇭 Philippines 237,168 0.2% Asia 48 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea 228,440 0.2% Oceania 49 🇹🇬 Togo 208,905 0.2% Africa 50 🇳🇮 Nicaragua 205,306 0.2% North America 51 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau 198,497 0.2% Africa 52 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe 191,333 0.2% Africa 53 🇨🇺 Cuba 181,721 0.2% North America 54 🇪🇸 Spain 179,677 0.2% Europe 55 🇬🇹 Guatemala 171,398 0.2% North America 56 🇧🇼 Botswana 170,855 0.2% Africa 57 🇱🇷 Liberia 170,428 0.2% Africa 58 🇳🇵 Nepal 156,215 0.1% Asia 59 🇺🇦 Ukraine 154,202 0.1% Europe 60 🇳🇦 Namibia 145,011 0.1% Africa 61 🇧🇩 Bangladesh 143,982 0.1% Asia 62 🇮🇷 Iran 119,492 0.1% Asia 63 🇬🇦 Gabon 103,419 0.1% Africa 64 🇨🇷 Costa Rica 98,035 0.1% North America 65 🇩🇿 Algeria 97,985 0.1% Africa 66 🇬🇲 Gambia 97,664 0.1% Africa 67 🇫🇷 France 96,050 0.1% Europe 68 🇳🇪 Niger 87,000 0.1% Africa 69 🇵🇰 Pakistan 80,485 0.1% Asia 70 🇮🇹 Italy 69,050 0.1% Europe 71 🇮🇶 Iraq 65,826 0.1% Asia 72 🇰🇪 Kenya 62,459 0.1% Africa 73 🇲🇳 Mongolia 60,447 0.1% Asia 74 🇲🇼 Malawi 57,640 0.1% Africa Much of this reflects deliberate seasonal burning. Across sub-Saharan Africa, fire is a long-standing tool for clearing land, managing pasture, and preparing fields for planting. Even so, the scale is striking: Africa has recorded roughly 26 times as much burned area as the United States so far in 2026. The Democratic Republic of Congo leads all countries with 13.6 million hectares burned, an area roughly the size of England. Angola follows at 7.5 million hectares, South Sudan at 7.0 million, and the Central African Republic at 6.0 million. Major Fire Seasons Beyond the Global Leaders Burned-area totals alone do not measure wildfire severity or risk, particularly because the GWIS dataset includes agricultural and prescribed burning. Still, several countries outside the global leaders have experienced significant uncontrolled wildfires in 2026. Spain has experienced one of the year’s most severe fire seasons. Driven by extreme heat and drought, wildfires had scorched approximately 180,000 hectares as of August 1, an exceptionally high total for this point in the season. A massive fire in Ávila became the largest in Spanish history, and with simultaneous fires raging across France , combined evacuations across both countries surpassed 300,000. Canada has recorded 2.0 million hectares burned as of August 1, with fires active across multiple provinces. The 2026 season follows the country’s record-breaking 2023 season, which burned approximately 15 million hectares according to Natural Resources Canada, seven times the historic national annual average. The United States has recorded 2.4 million hectares burned, with Oregon and Washington experiencing some of the most severe ongoing fires. More than 100 large wildfires were actively burning as of early August, driven by drought conditions affecting more than a quarter of the country’s land area. As four decades of U.S. wildfire data show, the number of fires has declined over time while the total land burned has increased, pointing to fires that are fewer but more intense. Australia Stands Apart in the Southern Hemisphere Outside Africa, Australia has recorded the largest burned area at 11.8 million hectares. That ranks second globally behind the Democratic Republic of Congo and accounts for nearly all of Oceania’s 11% share. The data table below shows a regional breakdown of land area burned in 2026 so far: Region Area Burned in Hectares (YTD to Aug 1, 2026) Share Africa 61,870,300 55.1% Asia 19,733,182 17.6% Oceania 12,061,714 10.7% South America 7,813,377 7.0% North America 6,804,905 6.1% Europe 3,992,404 3.6% World 112,275,880 100% Asia accounts for 18% of global burned land. Myanmar leads the region at 4.3 million hectares, followed by India at 4.0 million. Thailand, Laos, and China each add between 2.3 and 2.7 million hectares. South America contributes 7% of global burned land, led by Venezuela at 3.0 million hectares and Brazil at 2.0 million. Europe accounts for just 3%, with Russia responsible for most of the region’s 3.3 million-hectare total. If you enjoyed this graphic, check out How Much CO2 do Wildfires Contribute Globally? on Voronoi. Tyler Durden Fri, 08/14/2026 - 23:00