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Environment & Climate

Brazil reports Amazon deforestation at lowest level since 1988

Official satellite data shows 3,335 square kilometers of rainforest were lost from August 2025 through July 2026.

Updated Oct 17, 2026 · 06:10 UTC6 reports

The short version

  • Brazil's government announced that Amazon deforestation fell to its lowest level since records began in 1988.[ABC News · The Guardian]
  • Official satellite data showed 3,335 square kilometers of rainforest were lost from August 2025 through July 2026.[ABC News]
  • Pará, Mato Grosso and Amazonas recorded the largest shares of the loss, while Roraima was the only state where it rose 0.4%.[The Guardian]
  • The government reports a 71% drop since 2023, and Márcio Astrini of the Climate Observatory says Brazil's 2030 zero-deforestation pledge is achievable.[ABC News]

Key facts

  • Brazil's government announced that annual Amazon deforestation fell to its lowest level since 1988.[ABC News]
  • Official satellite data showed the rainforest lost 3,335 square kilometers from August 2025 through July 2026.[ABC News]
  • The Prodes satellite series showed Amazon forest clearance fell 41.8% over the past year to 3,335 square kilometres, the lowest value since measurements began in 1988.[The Guardian]
  • The government said deforestation has fallen 71% under Lula since 2023.[ABC News]
  • Official data showed Amazon deforestation rose about 60% during Jair Bolsonaro's presidency from 2019 to 2022, with more than 45,000 square kilometers cleared.[ABC News]
  • Since 2022, the deforestation rate has slowed 71.2%, according to data collated by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research.[The Guardian]
  • Pará, Mato Grosso and Amazonas accounted for 33.9%, 25.5% and 15.7% of Amazon deforestation in 2026, respectively.[The Guardian]
  • Roraima was the only state where deforestation increased, rising 0.4%.[The Guardian]

What remains uncertain

  • Márcio Astrini of the Climate Observatory said the rates show Brazil's 2030 zero-deforestation pledge is achievable without compromising the economy; this is an advocate's assessment, not an official finding.[ABC News]
  • The reported declines use different baselines: one year, since 2022, and since 2023, so the percentages are not directly comparable.[ABC News · The Guardian]
  • Both reports attribute the decline to enforcement and policy, but the provided reporting does not independently test that causal link.[ABC News · The Guardian]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.