Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has fallen to the lowest level on record.
Data released today by Brazil’s national space research institute, INPE, shows that forest clearing in Earth’s largest rainforest over the 12 months ended July 31, 2026, amounted to 3,335 square kilometers (1,288 square miles), an area smaller than the Spanish island of Mallorca. That is 42% below the previous year’s figure.
Deforestation in the Cerrado, the wooded savanna next to the Amazon rainforest, fell 24% to 5,516 sq km, also the lowest tally on record. The Cerrado has been the fastest-deforested biome in Brazil in recent decades, as vast areas have been converted to ranchland and industrial agriculture.
The reduction has accelerated since President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in 2023. Lula restored environmental law enforcement, expanded conservation programs, and resumed efforts to establish protected areas and recognize Indigenous territories. He faces a tough re-election bid later this month, raising concerns about whether recent progress in reducing Amazon forest loss will continue. Seven of the nine governors of Amazon states are allied with Flávio Bolsonaro, the frontrunner, who has campaigned on reducing protections for the Amazon.
Beyond the political dynamics, the near-term outlook for the Amazon is challenged by the super El Niño brewing in the Pacific. El Niño events are associated with drought in the southern Amazon, and fires typically increase in the year after a strong event.
Deforestation in the Amazon now amounts to about 15% of the biome, according to research by Amazon Conservation, a nonprofit. Scientists estimate that if it reaches 20-25%, the evapotranspiration system that drives rainfall across the region could fail, leading to drier conditions. That would make the forest more vulnerable to fire and could cause tropical species to die off. Models suggest that such a disruption could reduce rainfall in southern South America, the continent’s agricultural heartland.
Brazil accounts for just over 60% of the Amazon rainforest.
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This story first appeared on Mongabay
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