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Global Deforestation Slows, Analysis Finds. But Fires Remain a Major Threat.

In 2025, the world razed less forest than any other year in the last decade. The bad news: global warming is making wildfires more frequent and intense.

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Note: Circles are enlarged for legibility and do not represent the physical area lost.

Source: World Resources Institute.

By

Sachi Kitajima Mulkey

and

Harry Stevens

April 29, 2026,

12:01 a.m. ET

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Global tree loss fell 14 percent in 2025 from the year before, according to a report published on Wednesday by World Resources Institute, with the decline largely driven by progress in protecting tropical forests.

The total area destroyed worldwide was roughly 63 million acres, or 25.5 million hectares, the institute’s annual analysis found. But less tree cover was razed intentionally last year than any other year in the past decade, and losses in primary tropical forests were 36 percent lower than

last year’s record highs

.

The report was a bright spot amid a concerning trend of global forest loss, researchers said.

“Generally speaking, a good year is a good year,” said Matt Hansen, a professor at the University of Maryland and director of the Global Land Analysis and Discovery laboratory, which contributed forest-loss data to the report. “But you need good years forever if you’re going to conserve the tropical rainforest.”

Forest loss falls from record high

Fires remain a major driver of tree loss worldwide

Source: World Resources Institute

Last year’s gains were offset, however, by destruction from wildfires, which consumed about 26 million acres, an area almost as large as Cuba.

Scientists have found that the changing climate is setting the stage for extreme wildfires, which are

doubling in both frequency and intensity

worldwide. Climate change is also intensifying droughts and storms, and facilitating the spread of pests and diseases that can harm forests.

Primary tropical forest loss in select countries

Source: World Resources Institute

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