Dying birch trees photographed in 2017 in a restoration area in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, years after wildfire ravaged the area in 1987. Photo: VCG

Firefighters extinguish a forest fire in Nyingchi, Southwest China’s Tibet autonomous region, in October. Photo: VCG

Firefighters conduct mop-up operations in a smoldering forest on Feb. 2 in Perth, Australia. Photo: Trevor Collens/VCG

A giant sequoia burnt black is seen on Dec. 2 in the Sequoia National Forest in the U.S. Photo: David Swanson/VCG

Orangutans climb over burnt branches in September 2019 in Palangkaraya, Indonesia. Illegal blazes for agricultural plantations raged across the area in 2019, causing the number of forest fires to jump sharply. Ulet Ifansasti/VCG

Logging machinery grabs a trunk in a forest near Kernu in northern Estonia in October 2021. Forest areas around the world are being lost to agricultural and mining activities. Ivo Panasyuk/VCG

The Jamanxim National Forest in northern Brazil was devastated due to illegal gold mining in 2009. Photo: VCG

An aerial view of an area consumed by man-made fire that cleared land in August 2020 near Novo Progresso, Brazil. Photo: Andre Penner/VCG

A recent study suggests the Amazon rainforest is turning into savannah due to drought, fire and deforestation. Photo: VCG