A new study reveals that 2025 was the costliest year for wildfires on record, with losses reaching $140 billion. While the total area burned was lower than average, fires hit populated areas with higher intensity, causing massive insured losses in the US, South Korea, and Europe. Environmental data shows a critical trend in North American boreal forests, where fires have released four billion tonnes of CO2 since 2023. This surge exceeds the emissions of the previous 15 years, threatening to turn these forests from carbon sinks into net emission sources.
