Australia Battles Wildfires as Tree Cover Loss Surges, Latest Incident in Western Australia

Australia Battles Wildfires as Tree Cover Loss Surges, Latest Incident in Western Australia

Australia has been grappling with significant tree cover loss over the past two decades, with the latest incident occurring in Western Australia on November 28, 2024. The country's vast landmass of over 768 million hectares includes a tree cover extent of approximately 42 million hectares. However, the net change in tree cover has been negative, with a loss of over 2.50 million hectares and a gain of just over 1.60 million hectares, leading to a net loss of around 917,000 hectares.

Wildfires have been a major driver of this loss, accounting for a substantial portion of the tree cover decline. In the years 2019 and 2020 alone, wildfires contributed to over 1.30 million and 1.90 million hectares of tree cover loss, respectively. Urbanization and forestry activities have also played significant roles, with urbanization accounting for thousands of hectares of loss annually.