Area burned in Amazonia
This page collects data published of the extent of land burned in the Amazon biome in Brazil. The data is sourced from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE). All data is in square kilometers.
Month | Area burned for the month |
Area burned trailing 12-months |
Sep 2002 | 31914 | |
Oct 2002 | 19648 | |
Nov 2002 | 17052 | |
Dec 2002 | 5008 | |
Jan 2003 | 3528 | |
Feb 2003 | 1960 | |
Mar 2003 | 3295 | |
Apr 2003 | 1179 | |
May 2003 | 2033 | |
Jun 2003 | 5810 | |
Jul 2003 | 10625 | |
Aug 2003 | 25943 | |
Sep 2003 | 28643 | |
Oct 2003 | 11775 | 116851 |
Nov 2003 | 10518 | 110317 |
Dec 2003 | 7858 | 113167 |
Jan 2004 | 2872 | 112511 |
Feb 2004 | 1553 | 112104 |
Mar 2004 | 1309 | 110118 |
Apr 2004 | 697 | 109636 |
May 2004 | 3275 | 110878 |
Jun 2004 | 7665 | 112733 |
Jul 2004 | 13245 | 115353 |
Aug 2004 | 30179 | 119589 |
Sep 2004 | 46587 | 137533 |
Oct 2004 | 16148 | 141906 |
Nov 2004 | 20035 | 151423 |
Dec 2004 | 13442 | 157007 |
Jan 2005 | 2023 | 156158 |
Feb 2005 | 855 | 155460 |
Mar 2005 | 806 | 154957 |
Apr 2005 | 1381 | 155641 |
May 2005 | 2162 | 154528 |
Jun 2005 | 3761 | 150624 |
Jul 2005 | 12504 | 149883 |
Aug 2005 | 50315 | 170019 |
Sep 2005 | 51457 | 174889 |
Oct 2005 | 16893 | 175634 |
Nov 2005 | 14495 | 170094 |
Dec 2005 | 4206 | 160858 |
Jan 2006 | 1261 | 160096 |
Feb 2006 | 535 | 159776 |
Mar 2006 | 826 | 159796 |
Apr 2006 | 868 | 159283 |
May 2006 | 1055 | 158176 |
Jun 2006 | 2206 | 156621 |
Jul 2006 | 5201 | 149318 |
Aug 2006 | 25061 | 124064 |
Sep 2006 | 37450 | 110057 |
Oct 2006 | 9673 | 102837 |
Nov 2006 | 8229 | 96571 |
Dec 2006 | 4951 | 97316 |
Jan 2007 | 2692 | 98747 |
Feb 2007 | 3277 | 101489 |
Mar 2007 | 1765 | 102428 |
Apr 2007 | 432 | 101992 |
May 2007 | 1329 | 102266 |
Jun 2007 | 2866 | 102926 |
Jul 2007 | 5238 | 102963 |
Aug 2007 | 37397 | 115299 |
Sep 2007 | 60887 | 138736 |
Oct 2007 | 22883 | 151946 |
Nov 2007 | 14022 | 157739 |
Dec 2007 | 1799 | 154587 |
Jan 2008 | 1410 | 153305 |
Feb 2008 | 721 | 150749 |
Mar 2008 | 798 | 149782 |
Apr 2008 | 638 | 149988 |
May 2008 | 508 | 149167 |
Jun 2008 | 1693 | 147994 |
Jul 2008 | 4507 | 147263 |
Aug 2008 | 17498 | 127364 |
Sep 2008 | 18347 | 84824 |
Oct 2008 | 15520 | 77461 |
Nov 2008 | 9499 | 72938 |
Dec 2008 | 3553 | 74692 |
Jan 2009 | 412 | 73694 |
Feb 2009 | 991 | 73964 |
Mar 2009 | 765 | 73931 |
Apr 2009 | 512 | 73805 |
May 2009 | 1870 | 75167 |
Jun 2009 | 1689 | 75163 |
Jul 2009 | 2264 | 72920 |
Aug 2009 | 5620 | 61042 |
Sep 2009 | 10748 | 53443 |
Oct 2009 | 12340 | 50263 |
Nov 2009 | 14669 | 55433 |
Dec 2009 | 5131 | 57011 |
Jan 2010 | 1358 | 57957 |
Feb 2010 | 1295 | 58261 |
Mar 2010 | 643 | 58139 |
Apr 2010 | 659 | 58286 |
May 2010 | 1782 | 58198 |
Jun 2010 | 2305 | 58814 |
Jul 2010 | 5467 | 62017 |
Aug 2010 | 43187 | 99584 |
Sep 2010 | 39324 | 128160 |
Oct 2010 | 10948 | 126768 |
Nov 2010 | 4072 | 116171 |
Dec 2010 | 1774 | 112814 |
Jan 2011 | 68 | 111524 |
Feb 2011 | 928 | 111157 |
Mar 2011 | 97 | 110611 |
Apr 2011 | 484 | 110436 |
May 2011 | 981 | 109635 |
Jun 2011 | 1388 | 108718 |
Jul 2011 | 2023 | 105274 |
Aug 2011 | 6630 | 68717 |
Sep 2011 | 13333 | 42726 |
Oct 2011 | 5110 | 36888 |
Nov 2011 | 2991 | 35807 |
Dec 2011 | 6524 | 40557 |
Jan 2012 | 2356 | 42845 |
Feb 2012 | 327 | 42244 |
Mar 2012 | 335 | 42482 |
Apr 2012 | 368 | 42366 |
May 2012 | 1223 | 42608 |
Jun 2012 | 2566 | 43786 |
Jul 2012 | 2461 | 44224 |
Aug 2012 | 15856 | 53450 |
Sep 2012 | 18648 | 58765 |
Oct 2012 | 8323 | 61978 |
Nov 2012 | 11893 | 70880 |
Dec 2012 | 2510 | 66866 |
Jan 2013 | 3967 | 68477 |
Feb 2013 | 114 | 68264 |
Mar 2013 | 652 | 68581 |
Apr 2013 | 295 | 68508 |
May 2013 | 1366 | 68651 |
Jun 2013 | 2287 | 68372 |
Jul 2013 | 1849 | 67760 |
Aug 2013 | 6271 | 58175 |
Sep 2013 | 9103 | 48630 |
Oct 2013 | 4323 | 44630 |
Nov 2013 | 3166 | 35903 |
Dec 2013 | 2616 | 36009 |
Jan 2014 | 2354 | 34396 |
Feb 2014 | 981 | 35263 |
Mar 2014 | 1001 | 35612 |
Apr 2014 | 343 | 35660 |
May 2014 | 1094 | 35388 |
Jun 2014 | 2177 | 35278 |
Jul 2014 | 2590 | 36019 |
Aug 2014 | 15773 | 45521 |
Sep 2014 | 11967 | 48385 |
Oct 2014 | 9391 | 53453 |
Nov 2014 | 8257 | 58544 |
Dec 2014 | 5396 | 61324 |
Jan 2015 | 2137 | 61107 |
Feb 2015 | 1474 | 61600 |
Mar 2015 | 338 | 60937 |
Apr 2015 | 552 | 61146 |
May 2015 | 514 | 60566 |
Jun 2015 | 1434 | 59823 |
Jul 2015 | 2589 | 59822 |
Aug 2015 | 15365 | 59414 |
Sep 2015 | 21624 | 69071 |
Oct 2015 | 16010 | 75690 |
Nov 2015 | 17602 | 85035 |
Dec 2015 | 14038 | 93677 |
Jan 2016 | 6082 | 97622 |
Feb 2016 | 1005 | 97153 |
Mar 2016 | 2948 | 99763 |
Apr 2016 | 911 | 100122 |
May 2016 | 1585 | 101193 |
Jun 2016 | 2175 | 101934 |
Jul 2016 | 4514 | 103859 |
Aug 2016 | 15462 | 103956 |
Sep 2016 | 13415 | 95747 |
Oct 2016 | 7007 | 86744 |
Nov 2016 | 7131 | 76273 |
Dec 2016 | 2904 | 65139 |
Jan 2017 | 616 | 59673 |
Feb 2017 | 343 | 59011 |
Mar 2017 | 131 | 56194 |
Apr 2017 | 309 | 55592 |
May 2017 | 898 | 54905 |
Jun 2017 | 1375 | 54105 |
Jul 2017 | 4534 | 54125 |
Aug 2017 | 17630 | 56293 |
Sep 2017 | 34057 | 76935 |
Oct 2017 | 9596 | 79524 |
Nov 2017 | 12834 | 85227 |
Dec 2017 | 8917 | 91240 |
Jan 2018 | 2133 | 92757 |
Feb 2018 | 1260 | 93674 |
Mar 2018 | 1388 | 94931 |
Apr 2018 | 617 | 95239 |
May 2018 | 896 | 95237 |
Jun 2018 | 1605 | 95467 |
Jul 2018 | 3606 | 94539 |
Aug 2018 | 6048 | 82957 |
Sep 2018 | 12852 | 61752 |
Oct 2018 | 6533 | 58689 |
Nov 2018 | 4889 | 50744 |
Dec 2018 | 1344 | 43171 |
Jan 2019 | 2983 | 44021 |
Feb 2019 | 1598 | 44359 |
Mar 2019 | 5279 | 48250 |
Apr 2019 | 1913 | 49546 |
May 2019 | 812 | 49462 |
Jun 2019 | 1763 | 49620 |
Jul 2019 | 4281 | 50295 |
Aug 2019 | 24944 | 69191 |
Sep 2019 | 16253 | 72592 |
Number of hotspots
This page collects data published of the number of hotspots recorded in the Amazon biome in Brazil. The data is sourced from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE). All data is the number of hotspots recorded.
Month | Hotspots recorded for the month |
Hotspots recorded trailing 12-months |
---|---|---|
Jun 1998 | 1549 | |
Jul 1998 | 3192 | |
Aug 1998 | 20075 | |
Sep 1998 | 19214 | |
Oct 1998 | 8777 | |
Nov 1998 | 3833 | |
Dec 1998 | 2547 | |
Jan 1999 | 160 | |
Feb 1999 | 358 | |
Mar 1999 | 130 | |
Apr 1999 | 70 | |
May 1999 | 449 | |
Jun 1999 | 1439 | 60244 |
Jul 1999 | 3675 | 60727 |
Aug 1999 | 21525 | 62177 |
Sep 1999 | 16106 | 59069 |
Oct 1999 | 12794 | 63086 |
Nov 1999 | 4449 | 63702 |
Dec 1999 | 1703 | 62858 |
Jan 2000 | 87 | 62785 |
Feb 2000 | 182 | 62609 |
Mar 2000 | 405 | 62884 |
Apr 2000 | 92 | 62906 |
May 2000 | 930 | 63387 |
Jun 2000 | 3211 | 65159 |
Jul 2000 | 1510 | 62994 |
Aug 2000 | 12791 | 54260 |
Sep 2000 | 10062 | 48216 |
Oct 2000 | 10226 | 45648 |
Nov 2000 | 5497 | 46696 |
Dec 2000 | 3175 | 48168 |
Jan 2001 | 165 | 48246 |
Feb 2001 | 699 | 48763 |
Mar 2001 | 1134 | 49492 |
Apr 2001 | 617 | 50017 |
May 2001 | 916 | 50003 |
Jun 2001 | 4227 | 51019 |
Jul 2001 | 1816 | 51325 |
Aug 2001 | 17679 | 56213 |
Sep 2001 | 15528 | 61679 |
Oct 2001 | 14292 | 65745 |
Nov 2001 | 8346 | 68594 |
Dec 2001 | 4256 | 69675 |
Jan 2002 | 590 | 70100 |
Feb 2002 | 667 | 70068 |
Mar 2002 | 901 | 69835 |
Apr 2002 | 405 | 69623 |
May 2002 | 1490 | 70197 |
Jun 2002 | 5702 | 71672 |
Jul 2002 | 7529 | 77385 |
Aug 2002 | 43484 | 103190 |
Sep 2002 | 48549 | 136211 |
Oct 2002 | 27110 | 149029 |
Nov 2002 | 23660 | 164343 |
Dec 2002 | 9174 | 169261 |
Jan 2003 | 3704 | 172375 |
Feb 2003 | 1573 | 173281 |
Mar 2003 | 1997 | 174377 |
Apr 2003 | 1038 | 175010 |
May 2003 | 1983 | 175503 |
Jun 2003 | 6848 | 176649 |
Jul 2003 | 15918 | 185038 |
Aug 2003 | 34765 | 176319 |
Sep 2003 | 47789 | 175559 |
Oct 2003 | 25341 | 173790 |
Nov 2003 | 19631 | 169761 |
Dec 2003 | 13813 | 174400 |
Jan 2004 | 2178 | 172874 |
Feb 2004 | 805 | 172106 |
Mar 2004 | 1035 | 171144 |
Apr 2004 | 1012 | 171118 |
May 2004 | 3131 | 172266 |
Jun 2004 | 9179 | 174597 |
Jul 2004 | 19179 | 177858 |
Aug 2004 | 43320 | 186413 |
Sep 2004 | 71522 | 210146 |
Oct 2004 | 23928 | 208733 |
Nov 2004 | 26424 | 215526 |
Dec 2004 | 16924 | 218637 |
Jan 2005 | 4314 | 220773 |
Feb 2005 | 1048 | 221016 |
Mar 2005 | 758 | 220739 |
Apr 2005 | 832 | 220559 |
May 2005 | 1746 | 219174 |
Jun 2005 | 2954 | 212949 |
Jul 2005 | 19364 | 213134 |
Aug 2005 | 63764 | 233578 |
Sep 2005 | 68560 | 230616 |
Oct 2005 | 26624 | 233312 |
Nov 2005 | 16790 | 223678 |
Dec 2005 | 6966 | 213720 |
Jan 2006 | 1973 | 211379 |
Feb 2006 | 879 | 211210 |
Mar 2006 | 903 | 211355 |
Apr 2006 | 709 | 211232 |
May 2006 | 843 | 210329 |
Jun 2006 | 2522 | 209897 |
Jul 2006 | 6995 | 197528 |
Aug 2006 | 34208 | 167972 |
Sep 2006 | 51028 | 150440 |
Oct 2006 | 18309 | 142125 |
Nov 2006 | 17474 | 142809 |
Dec 2006 | 8579 | 144422 |
Jan 2007 | 1918 | 144367 |
Feb 2007 | 1761 | 145249 |
Mar 2007 | 1431 | 145777 |
Apr 2007 | 760 | 145828 |
May 2007 | 1176 | 146161 |
Jun 2007 | 3519 | 147158 |
Jul 2007 | 6196 | 146359 |
Aug 2007 | 46385 | 158536 |
Sep 2007 | 73141 | 180649 |
Oct 2007 | 28731 | 191071 |
Nov 2007 | 16025 | 189622 |
Dec 2007 | 5437 | 186480 |
Jan 2008 | 938 | 185500 |
Feb 2008 | 527 | 184266 |
Mar 2008 | 860 | 183695 |
Apr 2008 | 569 | 183504 |
May 2008 | 383 | 182711 |
Jun 2008 | 1248 | 180440 |
Jul 2008 | 5901 | 180145 |
Aug 2008 | 21445 | 155205 |
Sep 2008 | 26469 | 108533 |
Oct 2008 | 23518 | 103320 |
Nov 2008 | 15450 | 102745 |
Dec 2008 | 6145 | 103453 |
Jan 2009 | 1095 | 103610 |
Feb 2009 | 354 | 103437 |
Mar 2009 | 584 | 103161 |
Apr 2009 | 435 | 103027 |
May 2009 | 673 | 103317 |
Jun 2009 | 1023 | 103092 |
Jul 2009 | 2327 | 99518 |
Aug 2009 | 9732 | 87805 |
Sep 2009 | 20527 | 81863 |
Oct 2009 | 19323 | 77668 |
Nov 2009 | 19104 | 81322 |
Dec 2009 | 6505 | 81682 |
Jan 2010 | 1697 | 82284 |
Feb 2010 | 1147 | 83077 |
Mar 2010 | 1176 | 83669 |
Apr 2010 | 633 | 83867 |
May 2010 | 1026 | 84220 |
Jun 2010 | 1911 | 85108 |
Jul 2010 | 5868 | 88649 |
Aug 2010 | 45018 | 123935 |
Sep 2010 | 43933 | 147341 |
Oct 2010 | 14798 | 142816 |
Nov 2010 | 12167 | 135879 |
Dec 2010 | 5240 | 134614 |
Jan 2011 | 771 | 133688 |
Feb 2011 | 271 | 132812 |
Mar 2011 | 427 | 132063 |
Apr 2011 | 465 | 131895 |
May 2011 | 528 | 131397 |
Jun 2011 | 1083 | 130569 |
Jul 2011 | 2445 | 127146 |
Aug 2011 | 8002 | 90130 |
Sep 2011 | 16987 | 63184 |
Oct 2011 | 9760 | 58146 |
Nov 2011 | 9815 | 55794 |
Dec 2011 | 7632 | 58186 |
Jan 2012 | 1203 | 58618 |
Feb 2012 | 438 | 58785 |
Mar 2012 | 484 | 58842 |
Apr 2012 | 473 | 58850 |
May 2012 | 855 | 59177 |
Jun 2012 | 1875 | 59969 |
Jul 2012 | 3095 | 60619 |
Aug 2012 | 20687 | 73304 |
Sep 2012 | 24067 | 80384 |
Oct 2012 | 14814 | 85438 |
Nov 2012 | 13259 | 88882 |
Dec 2012 | 5469 | 86719 |
Jan 2013 | 1181 | 86697 |
Feb 2013 | 374 | 86633 |
Mar 2013 | 738 | 86887 |
Apr 2013 | 518 | 86932 |
May 2013 | 796 | 86873 |
Jun 2013 | 1450 | 86448 |
Jul 2013 | 2531 | 85884 |
Aug 2013 | 9444 | 74641 |
Sep 2013 | 16786 | 67360 |
Oct 2013 | 10242 | 62788 |
Nov 2013 | 6615 | 56144 |
Dec 2013 | 8013 | 58688 |
Jan 2014 | 1573 | 59080 |
Feb 2014 | 473 | 59179 |
Mar 2014 | 1010 | 59451 |
Apr 2014 | 632 | 59565 |
May 2014 | 673 | 59442 |
Jun 2014 | 1628 | 59620 |
Jul 2014 | 2766 | 59855 |
Aug 2014 | 20113 | 70524 |
Sep 2014 | 20522 | 74260 |
Oct 2014 | 13812 | 77830 |
Nov 2014 | 12169 | 83384 |
Dec 2014 | 7773 | 83144 |
Jan 2015 | 2042 | 83613 |
Feb 2015 | 1047 | 84187 |
Mar 2015 | 572 | 83749 |
Apr 2015 | 762 | 83879 |
May 2015 | 407 | 83613 |
Jun 2015 | 1287 | 83272 |
Jul 2015 | 2817 | 83323 |
Aug 2015 | 20471 | 83681 |
Sep 2015 | 29326 | 92485 |
Oct 2015 | 19469 | 98142 |
Nov 2015 | 16935 | 102908 |
Dec 2015 | 11303 | 106438 |
Jan 2016 | 4657 | 109053 |
Feb 2016 | 1559 | 109565 |
Mar 2016 | 2024 | 111017 |
Apr 2016 | 1075 | 111330 |
May 2016 | 895 | 111818 |
Jun 2016 | 1663 | 112194 |
Jul 2016 | 6120 | 115497 |
Aug 2016 | 18340 | 113366 |
Sep 2016 | 20460 | 104500 |
Oct 2016 | 14234 | 99265 |
Nov 2016 | 11610 | 93940 |
Dec 2016 | 5124 | 87761 |
Jan 2017 | 796 | 83900 |
Feb 2017 | 379 | 82720 |
Mar 2017 | 736 | 81432 |
Apr 2017 | 618 | 80975 |
May 2017 | 805 | 80885 |
Jun 2017 | 1759 | 80981 |
Jul 2017 | 7986 | 82847 |
Aug 2017 | 21244 | 85751 |
Sep 2017 | 36569 | 101860 |
Oct 2017 | 14457 | 102083 |
Nov 2017 | 14105 | 104578 |
Dec 2017 | 7985 | 107439 |
Jan 2018 | 1444 | 108087 |
Feb 2018 | 888 | 108596 |
Mar 2018 | 1359 | 109219 |
Apr 2018 | 513 | 109114 |
May 2018 | 772 | 109081 |
Jun 2018 | 1980 | 109302 |
Jul 2018 | 4788 | 106104 |
Aug 2018 | 10421 | 95281 |
Sep 2018 | 24803 | 83515 |
Oct 2018 | 10654 | 79712 |
Nov 2018 | 8881 | 74488 |
Dec 2018 | 1842 | 68345 |
Jan 2019 | 1419 | 68320 |
Feb 2019 | 1368 | 68800 |
Mar 2019 | 3383 | 70824 |
Apr 2019 | 1702 | 72013 |
May 2019 | 854 | 72095 |
Jun 2019 | 1880 | 71995 |
Jul 2019 | 5318 | 72525 |
Aug 2019 | 30901 | 93005 |
Sep 2019 | 19925 | 88127 |
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We’re approaching critical climate tipping points: Q&A with Tim Lenton
- Over the past twenty years the concept of “tipping points” has become more familiar to the public. Tipping points are critical thresholds at which small changes can lead to dramatic shifts in the state of the entire system.- Awareness of climate tipping points has grown in policy circles in recent years in no small part thanks to the work of climate scientist Tim Lenton, who serves as the director of the Global Systems Institute at Britain’s University of Exeter.- Lenton says the the rate at which we appear to be approaching several tipping points is now ringing alarm bells, but “most of our current generation of politicians are just not up to this leadership task”.- The pandemic however may have caused a shock to the system that could trigger what he calls “positive social tipping points” that “can accelerate the transformative change we need” provided we’re able to empower the right leaders.
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How the pandemic impacted rainforests in 2020: a year in review
- 2020 was supposed to be a make-or-break year for tropical forests. It was the year when global leaders were scheduled to come together to assess the past decade’s progress and set the climate and biodiversity agendas for the next decade. These included emissions reductions targets, government procurement policies and corporate zero-deforestation commitments, and goals to set aside protected areas and restore degraded lands.- COVID-19 upended everything: Nowhere — not even tropical rainforests — escaped the effects of the global pandemic. Conservation was particularly hard in tropical countries.- 2019’s worst trends for forests mostly continued through the pandemic including widespread forest fires, rising commodity prices, increasing repression and violence against environmental defenders, and new laws and policies in Brazil and Indonesia that undermine forest conservation.- We don’t yet have numbers on the degree to which the pandemic affected deforestation, because it generally takes several months to process that data. That being said, there are reasons to suspect that 2020’s forest loss will again be substantial.
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As Amazon deforestation hits 12 year high, France rejects Brazilian soy
- As Brazil continues deforesting and burning the Amazon at an alarming rate, France has announced plans to drastically reduce its dependency on Brazilian soy flour and “stop importing deforestation.”- France currently is the EU’s largest importer of Brazilian soy flour, buying 1.9 million tons annually. “Our target today is [cutting] soybean imports coming from the American continent,” said the French Minister of Agriculture and Food this week.- While the loss of its soy sales to France is of concern to Brazilian soy producers and commodities companies, agribusiness has expressed greater anxiety over whether Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s continued anti-environmental rhetoric and policies will provoke a largescale international boycott of Brazilian commodities.- They especially fear the president’s hardline could risk ratification of the Mercosur trade agreement between the EU and South American nations, including Brazil. This week the EU ambassador to Brazil said that the agreement is now in standby, awaiting the country’s concrete actions to combat deforestation and Amazon fires.
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As 2020 Amazon fire season winds down, Brazil carbon emissions rise
- 2,500+ major blazes burned across Brazil’s Legal Amazon between late May and early November. Many were on recently deforested lands, indicative of land grabbers converting forests to pastures and croplands, while others were within conserved areas and Indigenous reserves. Of concern: 41% of burns were in standing forests.- Estimates say that nearly 5.4 million acres (2.2 million hectares) of Brazil’s Amazon standing rainforest burned this year — an area roughly the size of the country of Wales in the United Kingdom.- Brazil’s soaring deforestation rates and Amazon fires point to another problem: the nation is not on track to meet its 2020 goals under the Paris Climate Agreement for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, carbon emissions in Brazil did not fall, but rose by 9.6%, in 2019, the first year of President Jair Bolsonaro’s four-year term.- Under its UN climate commitments, Brazil is only required to measure fire-related greenhouse gas emissions from newly deforested lands, not from fires in standing forests. A questionable practice, say some critics, as fires in the Amazon are routinely set by people and escape into forests. The highest CO2 emissions from forest fires in the Amazon don’t happen during the burn, but years later, a new study concludes, complicating emission estimates.
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Brazil reports lower deforestation, higher fires in September
- Brazil’s national space research institute INPE reported a third straight monthly drop in Amazon deforestation in September, but its data also showed a sharp increase in the area affect by fires.- According to INPE’s deforestation alert system, deforestation in the “legal Amazon” during the month of September amounted to 964 square kilometers, down 34% from September 2019. That follows a 27% decline in July and a 21% decline in August relative to a year ago when deforestation in the region hit the highest level since 2008.- However the reported decline in recent months does not match the trend reported by Imazon, an independent NGO, which reported increases of more than 30% in July and August, but hasn’t published September analysis yet. The discrepancy could be due to the different methodologies used by the two systems, though normally INPE and Imazon’s data show strong correlation.- Since January, INPE has reported more than 7,000 square kilometers of deforestation in the Amazon, down 10% from the same period last year, but the second highest on record since 2008.
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As Brazil burns, Indigenous fire brigades face an uncertain future
- More than 1,000 Indigenous people volunteer as firefighters throughout Brazil, protecting 14 million hectares (35 million acres) of Indigenous lands.- However, in a year of record fires, the very continuity of the Indigenous fire brigades is at risk, with the government failing to provide the coordination, recognition, funding or support that they need.- Fire-prevention measures that were supposed to start in April, before the dry season, were instead delayed to July, once the burning had already begun, with the COVID-19 pandemic one of the factors blamed for the delay.- Insiders in the federal agencies overseeing environmental protection and Indigenous affairs also point to an official culture of neglect of Indigenous communities, which in many cases has forced Indigenous firefighters to work unpaid.
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In a drier Amazon, small farmers and researchers work together to reduce fire damage
- Traditional Amazonian communities have used fire for centuries to open up small farming plots in a rotational system that allows the forest to regenerate and biodiversity to be preserved.- By contrast, the fires used to clear livestock pasture or to clear away vegetation after forest clearing tend to burn uncontrolled and permanently destroy vast swaths of the rainforest.- With the climate crisis rendering the forest drier and more flammable, villagers living alongside the Tapajós River, one of the main tributaries of the Amazon, have had increasing difficulty maintaining their traditional fire management practice.- Traditional safeguards such as creating fire breaks can help, but a project in the Brazilian state of Pará is bringing residents and researchers together to both create a fire warning and prediction system and transition away from the use of fire for farming.
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The Amazon savanna? Rainforest teeters on the brink as climate heats up
- A new study has found that 40% of the Amazon is at risk of turning into savanna due to decreases in rainfall.- The paper’s authors used satellite data, climate simulations and hydrological models to better understand the dynamics of rainfall across the tropics and their impacts on the stability of tropical forest ecosystems.- The team’s simulations suggest that sustained high greenhouse gas emissions through the end of the century could shrink the minimum size of the Amazon by 66%.
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Forest degradation outpaces deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon: Study
- Brazilian Amazon deforestation rates have declined from, and stayed below, their 2003 peak, despite recent increases. However, this decline was offset by a trend of increased forest degradation, according to an analysis of 23 years of satellite data. By 2014, the rate of degradation overtook deforestation, driven by increases in logging and understory burning.- During the 1992-2014 study period, 337,427 square kilometers suffered a loss of vegetation, compared to 308,311 square kilometers completely cleared, a finding that has serious implications for global greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss.- Forest degradation has been connected to outbreaks of infectious diseases as a result of increased contact between humans and displaced wildlife. Degradation can also facilitate the emergence of new diseases and some experts warn that the Amazon could be the source of the next pandemic.- These findings could have major implications for Brazilian national commitments to the Paris Climate Agreement, as well as international agreements and initiatives such as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and REDD+, which rely on forest degradation monitoring.
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Brazil moves toward transfer of deforestation and fire monitoring to military
- In a recent announcement, Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourão defended the creation of a new agency that would have full authority over Amazon deforestation and fire monitoring satellite alerts. For three decades, INPE, Brazil’s civilian space agency, has held that role, making data publicly available.- The VP claims INPE satellite monitoring is outdated and doesn’t see through clouds. Critics of the government note that the space institute’s Prodes and Deter systems continue to provide excellent data on Amazon fires and deforestation, usable for enforcement, while clouds matter little in the dry season when most fires occur.- Critics contend that multiple moves by the government to disempower INPE are likely ways of denying transparency, ending INPE’s civil authority, and placing deforestation and fire monitoring satellites under secretive military control.- So far, an effort to fund new military satellites has failed. Meanwhile, Norway has partnered with the companies Planet and Airbus to offer free satellite images for monitoring tropical forests including the Amazon. Such publicly available images from Planet, NASA and other sources could thwart Bolsonaro’s possible attempt at secrecy.