Countries With the Most Frequent Wildfires in the World (Explained)
Explore the most common countries with wildfires in 2025, Brazil and Australia, as well as Russia and the USA, causes of wildfires, hot spots of wildfires, and patterns of climate change.
Wildfires are gaining popularity as a threat to the world, with millions of acres of land being affected every year. The hotspots of wildfires include countries such as Australia, Brazil, Russia, and the United States, which have high cases of wildfires as a result of a combination of both natural and human causal factors. Due to prolonged droughts and increased temperatures, clearing agricultural lands and accidental fires, the countries experience the intensification of the trends of wildfires in terms of the number and the severity of fires. In this report, the countries with the highest number of wildfires, the causes of wildfires, and the most vulnerable states to global wildfires in 2025 will be discussed, along with how AI Can Help in Disaster Response to reduce their impact.
Countries With the Most Frequent Wildfires
| Region | Countries Most Affected | Key Causes | Recent Trends (2024–2025) |
| South America | Brazil, Bolivia | Deforestation, agricultural burning | Brazil reported record wildfire outbreaks in 2024 |
| Australia & Oceania | Australia | Heatwaves, drought, bushfires | Severe summer fires due to prolonged dry periods |
| Eurasia | Russia | Human-caused, climate change, vast forest areas | Continues to record highest tree cover loss |
| North America | USA (California, Florida), Canada (BC) | Drought, lightning strikes, human negligence | Frequent seasonal wildfires |
| Mediterranean Europe | Portugal, Greece, Italy, Spain | Dry summers, wind patterns, urban encroachment | Increasing fire intensity due to heatwaves |
| Southeast Asia | Indonesia, Malaysia | Land clearing for palm oil plantations | Recurring haze and transboundary fires |
Understanding the Global Wildfire Hotspots
South America is one of the regions in the world with the worst wildfire crisis, although in Brazil, fires are mostly associated with agricultural growth and deforestation. Bushfires in 2025 in Australia point to the role of heatwaves and sustained drought in increasing the outbreak of wildfires.
Russia has maintained an astronomical number of forest losses every year, due to the ignition and climate change caused by humans, which makes it one of the countries that has the worst forest fires. In the state of California in North America, and British Columbia in the province of Canada, there are frequent wildfires caused by drought, lightning, and human carelessness.
In Mediterranean Europe (Greece, Portugal, and Spain), the countries experience severe seasonal fires because of dry summers, winds, and urbanization. Indonesia and Malaysia in Southeast Asia are contributors to transboundary haze due to frequent fires, which are a result of clearing land to plant palm oil.
FAQs
What is the number of wildfires per year in the country that has the highest?
The total area incinerated per year in Russia is usually the most significant, as it contains large boreal forests and fires that are caused by people.
What is causing wildfires to grow all over the world?
The primary reasons that lead to the increase in the frequency of wildfires are climate change, deforestation, drought, and human negligence.
Are wildfires preventable?
Although natural fires cannot be completely prevented, better prevention of wildfires, land management, early warning systems, and decreased deforestation can reduce the effects of natural fires.
What are the implications of climate change on the intensity of wildfires?
An increase in weather temperatures and longer dry seasons gives the wildfires greater severity and spread.
