Amazon Deforestation in Brazil Falls to Lowest on Record
Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest fell to the lowest level on record in the 12 months through July, according to data released on October 16, 2026, by Brazil's space research agency Inpe. Some 3,335 square kilometres of Amazon forest were destroyed in the period, down about 42 percent from the previous period, the lowest figure in the historical series dating back to 1988. The figures come from Inpe's PRODES satellite monitoring programme, which measures the official annual period from August to July, when there is less cloud cover to obscure deforestation in satellite images.
In Brazil's Cerrado savanna, deforestation also fell to a record low in the same period, dropping about 24 percent to some 5,517 square kilometres, the lowest in a series that goes back to 2001. The Amazon and the Cerrado are Brazil's two largest ecological regions, and Inpe publishes official measurements of forest and vegetation loss for both regions once a year, based on its satellite monitoring. The Amazon figure of 3,335 square kilometres is equivalent to about 1,288 square miles of forest lost over the 12-month period ending in July.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：巴西亚马逊雨林水域林地。图片来源：James Martins，CC BY 3.0。Photo: Flooded Amazon rainforest in Brazil. Image: James Martins, CC BY 3.0.
