FOREST FIRE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT: TERRITORIAL DISTRIBUTION, CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES

Forest fires are the main cause of deforestation, which is a major threat to the livelihoods of people around the world. Despite the fact that the rate of annual deforestation has decreased in recent years compared to the last decade of the 20th century, it remains relatively high. Russia is one of the countries with the largest deforestation rates, both due to large-scale logging and catastrophic forest fires. In 2024, which is considered the hottest year on record, the actual area of fires in Russia's forest lands reached 8.2 million hectares. The article analyzes the statistics of forest fires in 2024, the distribution of the number and area of fires by federal districts of the Russian Federation, taking into account the categories of forests. It is established that the Far Eastern Federal District became the leader in terms of the area of forests affected by fires in 2024, accounting for more than 95% of the total area of forest fires in the Russian Federation. The article provides an assessment of the damage caused by fires to the Russian forestry sector in 2024 and ranks the federal districts of the Russian Federation by the amount of damage in monetary terms. The article examines the main negative factors contributing to the exceeding of the government-set target area for forest fires.