Record Rainforest Loss in 2024: Equivalent of 18 Football Pitches Destroyed Every Minute |LAGOS EYE NEWS

Global tropical rainforest destruction reached a record high in 2024, with an area equivalent to 18 football pitches lost every minute of the year, largely due to climate change-fuelled fires, according to a new report by Global Forest Watch.

In total, the world lost 67,000 square kilometres of primary tropical forest last year — an area twice the size of Belgium or Taiwan.

The report, released on Wednesday, reveals that forest loss surged by 80% compared to 2023.

“This level of forest destruction is completely unprecedented in more than 20 years of data,” said Elizabeth Goldman, co-director of Global Forest Watch. “This is a global red alert.”

For the first time, fires — many exacerbated by rising global temperatures — have overtaken agriculture as the leading cause of forest loss, accounting for nearly half of the destruction.

The report also highlights the climate implications, with the 2024 tree cover loss contributing over three billion tonnes of CO₂ emissions — more than India’s fossil fuel-related emissions during the same period.