Brazil’s Amazon lost 3,335 square kilometers of forest from August 2025 to July 2026. This was 41.8% less than the year before. It was the lowest amount since records began in 1988.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva brought back stronger checks and punishments for illegal forest cutting. His government also increased efforts to protect forests.
But the forest still faces dangers. El Niño warms part of the Pacific Ocean. It can bring hotter, drier weather to the Amazon and increase fires. Lula faces Flávio Bolsonaro in a final presidential vote on October 25. Experts worry that a Bolsonaro win could weaken forest protection.
