Estimates of global biomass burning emissions differ, posing a challenge for environment and climate change research. In response to this challenge, our new 2003–2023 dataset integrates top-down and bottom-up methods with multi-source data. This provides a plausible emissions range to quantify uncertainty, revealing that the greatest uncertainty is not in traditional hotspots but in regions with infrequent, extreme fires. This work offers vital data for more robust climate models.