Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon falls 42% to the lowest level ever recorded
Brazil's PRODES satellite system measured about 3,335 km² cleared between August 2025 and July 2026, the lowest figure since records began in 1988. The Cerrado savanna also hit a record low.
Brazil’s Amazon has lost less forest than ever. Between August 2025 and July 2026 about 3,335 square kilometres were cleared, 42% less than the year before, according to the PRODES satellite system run by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE). It is the lowest figure since records began in 1988.
A record that stood for 14 years
The previous low was 4,571 km², in 2011-2012. And the gap with the worst years is huge: in the mid-1990s, close to 30,000 km² a year were being cleared.
The Cerrado, Brazil’s vast savanna, is also improving: deforestation there fell 24%, to about 5,517 km², its lowest since monitoring began in 2001.
How it’s measured
INPE counts forest loss with satellite images from August to July, when there is less cloud cover and the pictures are clearer.
Why it matters
The Amazon holds a huge share of the planet’s carbon and biodiversity. “A historic achievement,” said Marcio Astrini of the Observatório do Clima: proof that political will can curb deforestation. The challenge now is to keep it falling until it reaches zero, Brazil’s goal for 2030.
