Amazon deforestation falls to a record low before Brazil's run-off

Amazon forest cleared, Aug 2025 to Jul 2026

3,335 km²

Brazil's space research agency said 3,335 square kilometres of Amazon forest were cleared in the 12 months to July, the lowest since records began in 1988. That is about 42 per cent less than the year before.

"It's an absolutely stratospheric drop… it's like a dream."

— Joao Paulo Capobianco, Brazil's environment minister

Clearing in the Cerrado savanna, south of the Amazon, fell by about 24 per cent to 5,517 square kilometres, also a record low.

Brazil

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva faces Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, in the run-off on Oct 25, with polls showing them neck and neck.