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This page collects deforestation alert data published by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and Imazon, a Brazilian NGO. INPE’s system is called DETER for Sistema de Detecção do Desmatamento na Amazônia Legal em Tempo Real, while Imazon’s system is called SAD for Sistema de Alerta de Deforestation.

As explained here, month-to-month deforestation is highly variable. Short-term, alert-based deforestation detection systems do not penetrate cloud cover, so during the rainy season — from roughly November to April — estimates are notoriously unreliable when compared to the same month a year earlier. Furthermore, most forest clearing in the Amazon occurs when it is dry. So if the dry season is early, deforestation may increase earlier than normal. For these reasons, the most accurate deforestation comparisons are made year-on-year. For Brazil, the deforestation “year” ends July 31: the peak of the dry season when the largest extent of forest is typically visible via satellite.

Short-term data isn’t useless though — it can provide insights on trends, especially over longer periods of time. Generally, comparing 12 consecutive months of alert data will provide a pretty good indication of deforestation relative to other years. Therefore the charts below include monthly data as well as the 12-month moving average (Trailing Twelve Months = “TTM”).

Last update: 2019-Oct-10

Table: Monthly deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

Month	DETER	DETER TTM	SAD	SAD TTM
Apr 2008	1,124		156
May 2008	1,096	9,190	294	5,603
Jun 2008	871	9,064	612	5,716
Jul 2008	324	8,536	276	5,031
Aug 2008	757	7,835	102	4,470
Sep 2008	587	8,400	321	3,679
Oct 2008	541	8,457	102	3,257
Nov 2008	355	8,554	61	2,251
Dec 2008	177	8,013	50	2,233
Jan 2009	222	7,342	51	2,202
Feb 2009	143	6,925	62	2,201
Mar 2009	18	6,343	57	2,144
Apr 2009	37	6,214	121	2,109
May 2009	124	5,127	157	1,972
Jun 2009	578	4,155	150	1,510
Jul 2009	836	3,862	532	1,766
Aug 2009	498	4,375	273	1,937
Sep 2009	400	4,116	216	1,832
Oct 2009	176	3,929	194	1,924
Nov 2009	72	3,564	74	1,937
Dec 2009		3,281	16	1,903
Jan 2010	23	3,104	63	1,915
Feb 2010	185	2,905	88	1,941
Mar 2010	52	2,947	76	1,960
Apr 2010	52	2,981	65	1,904
May 2010	110	2,996	96	1,843
Jun 2010	244	2,982	172	1,865
Jul 2010	485	2,647	155	1,488
Aug 2010	265	2,296	210	1,425
Sep 2010	448	2,063	170	1,379
Oct 2010	389	2,111	153	1,338
Nov 2010	121	2,324	65	1,329
Dec 2010	21	2,372	175	1,488
Jan 2011	36	2,394	83	1,508
Feb 2011	1	2,407	63	1,483
Mar 2011	116	2,223	46	1,453
Apr 2011	477	2,287	298	1,686
May 2011	268	2,712	165	1,755
Jun 2011	313	2,871	99	1,682
Jul 2011	225	2,940	93	1,620
Aug 2011	163	2,680	240	1,650
Sep 2011	254	2,578	170	1,650
Oct 2011	386	2,384	102	1,599
Nov 2011	133	2,381	16	1,550
Dec 2011	75	2,393	40	1,415
Jan 2012	22	2,446	33	1,365
Feb 2012	307	2,432	107	1,409
Mar 2012	60	2,737	53	1,416
Apr 2012	233	2,681	71	1,189
May 2012	99	2,437	43	1,067
Jun 2012	108	2,268	35	1,003
Jul 2012	214	2,062	140	1,050
Aug 2012	522	2,051	232	1,042
Sep 2012	283	2,410	431	1,303
Oct 2012	277	2,439	487	1,688
Nov 2012	205	2,331	55	1,727
Dec 2012	131	2,403	82	1,769
Jan 2013	9	2,459	35	1,771
Feb 2013	270	2,447	45	1,709
Mar 2013	28	2,410	80	1,736
Apr 2013	147	2,378	140	1,805
May 2013	465	2,293	84	1,846
Jun 2013	210	2,659	184	1,995
Jul 2013	217	2,762	152	2,007
Aug 2013	289	2,766	185	1,960
Sep 2013	443	2,532	103	1,632
Oct 2013	155	2,692	43	1,188
Nov 2013	108	2,569	37	1,170
Dec 2013	93	2,472	56	1,144
Jan 2014	75	2,434	107	1,216
Feb 2014	119	2,500	11	1,182
Mar 2014	53	2,349	20	1,122
Apr 2014	166	2,374	100	1,082
May 2014	271	2,394	185	1,183
Jun 2014	535	2,200	843	1,842
Jul 2014	729	2,525	355	2,045
Aug 2014	890	3,036	437	2,297
Sep 2014	736	3,638	402	2,596
Oct 2014	298	3,931	244	2,797
Nov 2014	77	4,074	195	2,955
Dec 2014	85	4,043	95	2,994
Jan 2015	129	4,035	289	3,176
Feb 2015	61	4,089	42	3,207
Mar 2015	155	4,031	58	3,245
Apr 2015	334	4,133	137	3,282
May 2015	588	4,301	389	3,486
Jun 2015	855	4,618	494	3,137
Jul 2015	914	4,937	542	3,324
Aug 2015	654	5,122	415	3,302
Sep 2015	504	4,885	229	3,129
Oct 2015	377	4,653	230	3,115
Nov 2015	240	4,732	99	3,019
Dec 2015	89	4,896	175	3,099
Jan 2016	63	4,899	52	2,862
Feb 2016	534	4,832	0	2,820
Mar 2016	123	5,305	213	2,975
Apr 2016	436	5,274	183	3,021
May 2016	784	5,375	474	3,106
Jun 2016	1,431	5,571	972	3,584
Jul 2016	738	6,147	539	3,581
Aug 2016	1,023	5,972	582	3,748
Sep 2016	688	6,160	387	3,906
Oct 2016	741	6,350	202	3,878
Nov 2016	366	6,403	37	3,816
Dec 2016	17	6,147	0	3,641
Jan 2017	58	5,971	42	3,631
Feb 2017	101	5,956	0	3,631
Mar 2017	74	5,721	97	3,515
Apr 2017	125	5,420	96	3,428
May 2017	348	5,238	365	3,319
Jun 2017	589	4,876	537	2,884
Jul 2017	455	4,585	544	2,889
Aug 2017	289	3,852	184	2,491
Sep 2017	393	3,556	241	2,345
Oct 2017	456	3,272	261	2,404
Nov 2017	359	3,265	56	2,423
Dec 2017	289	3,538	184	2,607
Jan 2018	179	3,658	70	2,635
Feb 2018	151	3,708	214	2,849
Mar 2018	358	3,993	287	3,039
Apr 2018	508	4,376	217	3,160
May 2018	538	4,565	634	3,429
Jun 2018	505	4,481	1,169	4,061
Jul 2018	610	4,635	778	4,295
Aug 2018	520	4,865	545	4,656
Sep 2018	723	5,195	444	4,859
Oct 2018	491	5,230	187	4,785
Nov 2018	265	5,136	287	5,016
Dec 2018	66	4,914	246	5,078
Jan 2019	140	4,875	108	5,116
Feb 2019	131	4,855	93	4,995
Mar 2019	242	4,739	67	4,775
Apr 2019	238	4,468	195	4,753
May 2019	702	4,633	797	4,916
Jun 2019	919	5,048	801	4,548
Jul 2019	2,092	6,530	1,287	5,057
Aug 2019	1,694	7,705	886	5,398
Sep 2019	1,341	8,323

In August 2016, the table data for the DETER columns switches from DETER to DETER-B, Brazil’s new deforestation detection system.

Amazon rainforest the size of Sao Paulo cleared in July in Brazil
by Rhett Butler on August 7, 2020 at 9:46 pm
An area of rainforest larger than the city of São Paulo was cleared during the month of July, bringing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon to 9,205 square kilometers over the past 12 months, 34% higher than a year ago, according to official government data released today by Brazil’s National Space Research Institute INPE. The news
Fires in Argentina’s Paraná Delta are burning ‘out of control’
by elizabethalberts on August 7, 2020 at 7:10 pm
Argentina’s Paraná Delta is on fire, and conservationists are sounding the alarm, warning that this major ecosystem could be devastated beyond repair. The delta system, which spans 19,300 square kilometers (7,450 square miles) in eastern Argentina, is an intricate network of islands, streams, lagoons, marshlands, grasslands and forests, that crisscross the Paraná River, the second-largest
Brazilian Amazon protected areas ‘in flames’ as land-grabbers invade
by Morgan Erickson-Davis on August 7, 2020 at 6:05 pm
In a remote slice of Triunfo do Xingu, deep in Brazil’s northern Pará state, swaths of lush forest have been engulfed by flames in recent days. In another stretch to the north, a patch of untouched jungle has been almost entirely cleared this year. In countless other parts of this vast protected region, the Amazon
Probe begins into alleged deforestation by Olam, ‘world’s largest farmer’
by Genevieve Belmaker on August 7, 2020 at 11:34 am
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is carrying out an investigation into whether Singapore-based agribusiness giant Olam deforested more than 25,000 hectares (62,000 acres), in contravention of sustainability criteria it had signed up to, in order to develop oil palm plantations in Gabon. A complaint that Olam breached FSC rules was first filed in 2016 by
Deforestation in the Amazon is drying up the rest of Brazil: Report
by Xavier Bartaburu on August 7, 2020 at 11:06 am
For two years, regions of Brazil that depend on precipitation fed by Amazonian vegetation have seen rainfall below historical averages, impacting crops and harvests. A recent bulletin from a federal agency points to agribusiness itself as one of the drivers of this pattern.

Last update: 2019-Oct-10

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