NAFI fire year summary report 2025

Executive Summary – 2025 Fire Year

NAFI burnt area mapping covers 80% of Australia capturing ~97% of national fire extent. It underpins operational fire management and national greenhouse gas accounting, including carbon credit methodologies.

The 2025 fire year across the North Australia and Rangelands Fire Information (NAFI) mapping region was characterised by extensive fire activity, with a total of 656,125 km² burnt, making it the second largest f ire year in the past decade, exceeded only by 2023.

Fire activity in 2025 followed expected seasonal and regional patterns but was amplified by severe late dry-season conditions. Early-year burning (April–July) was concentrated in the high rainfall northern savannas, reflecting strategic fuel management following the wet season. In contrast, October accounted for approximately 25% of total annual burnt area, driven by severe fire weather and storm related ignitions, particularly across northern arid zones.

Regional patterns highlight three distinct fire regimes:

High rainfall northern savannas (far north): High, consistent fire activity with relatively low interannual variability due to active management.

Northern rangelands: Strong climatic influence, with increased fire extent in years of high fuel loads and severe weather - evident in 2025.

Southern rangelands/temperate areas: Low and irregular fire occurrence.

At the jurisdictional level within the NAFI mapping region, the majority of fire activity occurred in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Western Australia recorded 19 million hectares burnt (8.4%), while the Northern Territory experienced the highest extent, with 29.6 million hectares burnt (22%). Queensland recorded moderate fire activity, with 14.3 million hectares burnt (9.2%), whereas South Australia experienced minimal burning (0.1%).

Through 2025 several very large ‘Terra’ fire events (>1 million ha) occurred, predominantly in central and northern Australia, many ignited during late dry-season conditions through October.

Overall, 2025 reflects a high fire year driven by strong seasonal contrasts, effective early dry-season management in northern savannas, and significant late-season fire escalation under extreme conditions.

NAFI Data access

Source data for this report can be downloaded from www.firenorth.org.au

Reports for 2025 can be downloaded from: https://nafi-bam-data-map.lkvl.net/ and https://smerf.net.au/

Introduction

This report provides a summary of fire extent across Australia in 2025, based on burnt area mapping from the North Australia and Rangelands Fire Information (NAFI) service. The NAFI dataset constitutes the highest-quality national burnt area mapping currently available, having undergone rigorous manual editing and validation, providing coverage across the majority of Australia.

NAFI Burnt Area Mapping Overview

The North Australia and Rangelands Fire information service (NAFI) service provides monthly attributed burnt area mapping derived primarily from moderate spatial resolution (250 m) satellite imagery (Fisher & Edwards, 2015). This mapping captures fire activity across the open landscapes of Australia’s savannas and rangelands. 

The mapping currently covers 80% of the Australian continent. Historical satellite-derived records (MODIS MCD64) indicate that this coverage region accounts for approximately 97% of total fire extent across Australia over the 24-year period from 2001 to 2023 (Figure 1).

Applications and Accuracy 

The dataset is widely used for operational fire management across most of the coverage area. It also underpins the estimation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from savanna burning. These estimates support the allocation of carbon credits under the Australian Government’s savanna burning emissions reduction methodologies (Commonwealth of Australia, 2015). 

To ensure methodological integrity, the carbon abatement framework requires a demonstrated mapping accuracy exceeding 80% in high-frequency fire environments of the the tropical savannas. Ongoing validation, including both ground-based assessments and remote sensing comparisons, indicates that the dataset consistently achieves accuracy levels greater than 90% across northern Australian savanna regions.

Australia mapping region fire extent

Fires within the NAFI mapped area predominantly affect grass and shrub layers in open landscapes. Fire extent and frequency are strongly influenced by the monsoonal climate of northern Australia, which promotes fuel growth and curing (Russell-Smith & Edwards, 2006). Additionally, low population density and limited infrastructure in these regions allow fires to spread over large areas with minimal suppression.

Across the NAFI reporting region, a total of 656,125 km² was burnt in 2025. The monthly distribution of burnt area is presented in Figure 2. 

During the first half of the year, fire activity is predominantly concentrated in the far north. This region corresponds to the highest rainfall zone, which is the most fire prone and is subject to the most intensive fuel management practices (Vigilante et al 2024). The temporal pattern of fire activity reflects this management approach, with the majority of burning occurring between April and July. This period follows the cessation of wet season rainfall, when fuels have sufficiently cured to support fuel management burning but precedes the onset of more severe hot and dry conditions later in the year. 

The vast majority (25%) of burning occurred in October. October coincided with severe fire weather and the onset of early storm activity producing several large lighting ignition fires in the northern arid zone.

Fire extent in 2025 was the second largest in the last ten years, only smaller than the 2023 fire season which burnt over 855,971 km².

Fire Extent by Geographic Regions

Fire occurrence across Australia varies considerably based on climatic conditions. Fire frequency across most of Australia is closely related to fuel availability which in turn is related to rainfall. The NAFI mapping covers three broad fire regions.

• High rainfall, highly fire-prone tropical savanna (far northern Australia):
  This region is characterised by relatively low interannual variability in fire extent. Fire activity is generally more stable due to high levels of naturally occurring fire and active and coordinated fire management. As a result, year-to-year fluctuations are comparatively modest.
• Fire-prone northern rangelands (tropical to semi-arid transition zone):
  Extending south to approximately 23°S (and slightly further south in Western Australia), this zone encompasses savanna and semi-arid rangeland systems. Fire activity in this region is strongly influenced by climatic conditions, particularly fuel availability and fire weather. Consequently, there are predictable increases in fire extent during years with above-average fuel loads and severe fire weather conditions, such as observed in 2023 and 2025.
• Southern rangelands and temperate zone:
  Covering southern Queensland, the rangelands of South Australia, and southern Western Australia, this region experiences comparatively low fire frequency. Fire occurrence is more sporadic, and interannual variability is less predictable, often driven by isolated fire events rather than broad-scale climatic patterns.

The following section describes the 2025 fire year across six rainfall classes from the high-rainfall tropical savannas to the arid deserts of central Australia. For each rainfall class the burnt area in km², the amount burnt as a proportion of the total area and the deviation from the median area burnt for that class is shown. The median deviation has been calculated using the previous 20 years of burnt area statistics for each class.

Median deviation maps are also provided for Australia's bioregions (IBRA) and Local Government Areas that overlap the NAFI mapping extent. Australia's bioregions classify Australia's landscapes into 89 large geographically distinct bioregions based on common climate, geology, landform, native vegetation, and species information (https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/land/nrs/science/ibra). Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Australia are the lowest tier of administrative, geographic, and political subdivisions, often known as councils, shires, or municipalities. Viewing fire in LGAs could show governing regions that had increased fire impact through 2025.

Detailed reports for the rainfall and other biogeographic and cultural regions can be downloaded from the NAFI annual reporting site at: nafi-bam-data-map.lkvl.net

Fire extent by rainfall zones

Bioregions and Local Government areas

Note: a table summary of burnt area by month for bioregions and LGAs is provided in the appendix.

Australia mapping region fire extent by jurisdiction

The following section summarises the 2025 burnt area extent within the NAFI mapping region for each jurisdiction. Mapping coverage includes approximately 90% of Western Australia, 100% of the Northern Territory, 91.5% of Queensland, and 93% of South Australia. The spatial extent of this coverage is illustrated in map form for each jurisdiction.

The reports for each state are available from the NAFI annual fire reporting tool at: nafi-bam-data-map.lkvl.net

Western Australia - 2025 

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Total burnt area: 19,036,691 ha

Proportion of total area: 8.4%

Area burnt before August: 5,875,504 ha (58,755 km²)

Proportion before August: 2.6%

Area burnt after July: 13,161,187 ha (131,611.9 km²)

Proportion after July: 5.8% 

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Northern Territory - 2025

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Total burnt area: 29,619,232 ha

Proportion of total area: 22.0%

Area burnt before August: 13,856,494 ha (138,564.9 km²)

Proportion before August: 10.3%

Area burnt after July: 15,762,738 ha (157,627.4 km²)

Proportion after July: 11.7%

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Note: Current year data may change with mapping refinement through the year.

Queensland - 2025

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Total burnt area: 14,356,541 ha

Proportion of total area: 9.2%

Area burnt before August: 4,245,180 ha (42,451.8 km²)

Proportion before August: 2.7%

Area burnt after July: 10,111,361 ha (101,113.6 km²)

Proportion after July: 6.5% 

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Note: Current year data may change with mapping refinement through the year.

South Australia - 2025

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Total burnt area: 55,649 ha

Proportion of total area: 0.1%

Area burnt before August: 46,389 ha (463.9 km²)

Proportion before August: 0.1%

Area burnt after July: 9,260 ha (92.6 km²)

Proportion after July: 0.0%

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Note: Current year data may change with mapping refinement through the year.

Large Fire Events

The largest fires across Australia in 2025 were identified by combining burnt area mapping with interpolated hotspot data. Hotspot data are points of active fires that are captured multiple times a day. These are used to attribute burnt area cells to the day they burnt. This is then used to identify fire event boundaries and their start and end dates.

The Top Ten Largest Fire Events Across Australia in 2025

The ten largest fires in 2025 burnt 9.7 million ha, accounting for 15% of the total burnt area. The largest fire occurred in the Tanami Desert bioregion, with 3,528,725 ha burnt over 28 days from 9 October to 6 November. This fire complex resulted from more than a dozen ignitions associated with a dry lightning storm that swept through the region in early October.

The second largest fire burnt through the Dampierland bioregion, south of Broome in the far north of Western Australia. This fire, which also started on 9 October, burnt 1,248,744 ha over 28 days and was initiated by a single ignition. Both fires were driven by significant preceding rainfall, which led to large, continuous fuel loads, combined with severe fire weather conditions.

Another significant event was a fire that burnt through Judbarra–Gregory National Park (NT), impacting over 63% of Australia's fourth largest national park. The fire started on 2 August and burnt 738,462 ha over 62 days. Its extent was exacerbated by significant preceding rainfall and limited fuel mitigation, resulting in a substantial build-up of continuous fuel loads.

Table 1. The ten largest fires for 2025, within the NAFI mapping, with region and burn period attributes.

References 

Commonwealth of Australia. (2015). Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative - Emissions Abatement through Savanna Fire Management) Methodology Determination 2015’.

Fisher, R., & Edwards, A. C. (2015). Fire extent mapping : procedures, validation and website application. Carbon Accounting and Savanna Fire Management Frequency, (August), 57–72.

Fisher, R., Legge, S., Catt, G., & Cliff, H. (2025). Extensive fires in Australia’s northern spinifex deserts – investigating the 2023 ‘Black Spring’ and the influence of indigenous fire management. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 34(8). https://doi.org/10.1071/WF25002

Russell-Smith, J., & Edwards, A. C. (2006). Seasonality and fire severity in savanna landscapes of monsoonal northern Australia. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 15(4), 541–550. https://doi.org/10.1071/WF05111

Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation, Dambimangari Aboriginal Corporation, Wilinggin Aboriginal Corporation, Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation, Vigilante, T., Goonack, C., Williams, D., Joseph, A., Woolley, L. A., & Fisher, R. (2024). Factors enabling fire management outcomes in Indigenous Savanna fire management projects in Western Australia. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 33(9), 1-14. Article WF24092. https://doi.org/10.1071/WF24092

Appendix 1 - Burnt area (ha) by month for bioregions

Appendix 2 - Burnt by month (ha) Local Government Areas