Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) publishes land use change data on a monthly basis using its DETER-B system (Sistema de Detecção do Desmatamento na Amazônia Legal em Tempo Real). Below is a table with the monthly data since the system went public in August 2016. All figures are square kilometers.
Last update: 2024-Feb-17
Month | Deforestation | Degradation | Deforestation with Exposed Soil | Deforestation with Vegetation | Mining | Wildfire scar | Selective Cut Type 1+2 |
Aug 2016 | 1025.1 | 1673.8 | 1009.7 | 13.1 | 2.3 | 9285.8 | 539.5 |
Sep 2016 | 691.4 | 472.2 | 687.1 | 1.4 | 3.0 | 4244.3 | 275.9 |
Oct 2016 | 749.8 | 899.7 | 739.0 | 1.9 | 8.9 | 4081.9 | 292.0 |
Nov 2016 | 367.1 | 354.1 | 363.2 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 569.1 | 147.5 |
Dec 2016 | 16.5 | 8.5 | 16.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13.5 | 0.0 |
Jan 2017 | 58.2 | 14.3 | 58.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 10.2 | 0.0 |
Feb 2017 | 101.3 | 12.2 | 101.2 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 1.2 |
Mar 2017 | 74.2 | 23.2 | 73.6 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 5.2 | 0.5 |
Apr 2017 | 126.9 | 40.1 | 121.3 | 4.0 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 0.7 |
May 2017 | 363.5 | 128.3 | 340.3 | 7.8 | 15.4 | 4.1 | 61.1 |
Jun 2017 | 608.3 | 128.2 | 504.0 | 84.8 | 19.4 | 75.0 | 53.6 |
Jul 2017 | 457.7 | 156.6 | 407.9 | 47.5 | 2.3 | 40.0 | 131.1 |
Aug 2017 | 289.1 | 278.0 | 286.9 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 101.6 | 262.1 |
Sep 2017 | 411.4 | 339.5 | 409.5 | 0.0 | 1.9 | 7757.8 | 165.7 |
Oct 2017 | 456.5 | 427.6 | 452.9 | 0.6 | 3.0 | 6857.8 | 178.4 |
Nov 2017 | 359.7 | 199.9 | 352.9 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 1843.2 | 398.4 |
Dec 2017 | 293.7 | 264.5 | 284.3 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 1152.0 | 125.2 |
Jan 2018 | 182.6 | 206.6 | 149.6 | 27.3 | 5.7 | 1589.7 | 71.9 |
Feb 2018 | 146.3 | 96.2 | 139.0 | 6.9 | 0.4 | 406.6 | 0.0 |
Mar 2018 | 356.6 | 246.1 | 318.4 | 33.7 | 4.4 | 507.5 | 110.6 |
Apr 2018 | 489.5 | 280.3 | 428.0 | 51.8 | 9.7 | 710.6 | 95.8 |
May 2018 | 549.9 | 239.8 | 452.1 | 78.2 | 19.5 | 313.2 | 130.7 |
Jun 2018 | 488.2 | 569.1 | 407.0 | 66.9 | 14.3 | 467.5 | 218.9 |
Jul 2018 | 596.3 | 700.9 | 562.4 | 24.1 | 9.8 | 199.0 | 188.0 |
Aug 2018 | 525.9 | 325.7 | 494.6 | 22.2 | 9.1 | 616.3 | 130.6 |
Sep 2018 | 746.0 | 306.5 | 728.6 | 12.2 | 5.3 | 1294.4 | 372.6 |
Oct 2018 | 526.2 | 196.5 | 505.7 | 13.8 | 6.7 | 136.2 | 135.2 |
Nov 2018 | 276.9 | 66.3 | 271.5 | 5.2 | 0.2 | 12.3 | 124.0 |
Dec 2018 | 67.2 | 8.4 | 63.5 | 3.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 9.3 |
Jan 2019 | 136.1 | 49.4 | 130.6 | 4.9 | 0.6 | 33.9 | 42.7 |
Feb 2019 | 138.1 | 19.8 | 118.6 | 14.2 | 5.3 | 18.1 | 8.6 |
Mar 2019 | 251.48 | 41.63 | 233.81 | 16.09 | 1.58 | 473.44 | 48.26 |
Apr 2019 | 247.39 | 70.25 | 229.79 | 13.91 | 3.69 | 679.78 | 9.32 |
May 2019 | 738.56 | 60.91 | 623.06 | 81.03 | 34.47 | 58.38 | 57.53 |
Jun 2019 | 934.81 | 58.48 | 854.27 | 67.98 | 12.56 | 656.94 | 183.74 |
Jul 2019 | 2255.33 | 520.55 | 2005.49 | 225.86 | 23.98 | 722.68 | 389.26 |
Aug 2019 | 1714.31 | 374.96 | 1675.38 | 32.08 | 6.85 | 1380.99 | 847.91 |
Sep 2019 | 1453.64 | 331.04 | 1436.15 | 13.65 | 3.84 | 3851.01 | 599.54 |
Oct 2019 | 555.27 | 313.29 | 545.64 | 6.66 | 2.97 | 516.74 | 217.35 |
Nov 2019 | 562.8 | 101.27 | 548.56 | 7.17 | 7.07 | 151.8 | 490.54 |
Dec 2019 | 189.94 | 29.14 | 183.37 | 4.04 | 2.53 | 13.99 | 46.13 |
Jan 2020 | 284.28 | 89.27 | 264.49 | 14.69 | 5.1 | 7.83 | 173.67 |
Feb 2020 | 185.73 | 13.07 | 180.04 | 1.71 | 3.98 | 14.07 | 62.8 |
Mar 2020 | 326.94 | 23.51 | 317.79 | 5.46 | 3.69 | 1.88 | 0.8 |
Apr 2020 | 407.2 | 27.34 | 392.86 | 8.95 | 5.39 | 14.53 | 27.59 |
May 2020 | 833.57 | 18.41 | 802.64 | 23.25 | 7.68 | 19.16 | 54.04 |
Jun 2020 | 1043.23 | 167.81 | 923.83 | 97.55 | 21.85 | 12.76 | 138.24 |
Jul 2020 | 1658.97 | 328.48 | 1578.53 | 56.79 | 23.65 | 287.25 | 717.31 |
Aug 2020 | 1353.89 | 241.49 | 1330.36 | 7.74 | 15.79 | 773.7 | 854.66 |
Sep 2020 | 962.55 | 204.75 | 952.03 | 3.32 | 7.2 | 9824.12 | 623.59 |
Oct 2020 | 835.72 | 252.12 | 832.14 | 0.84 | 2.74 | 3358.84 | 680.26 |
Nov 2020 | 309.76 | 87.83 | 305.53 | 3.68 | 0.55 | 731.23 | 148.76 |
Dec 2020 | 215.42 | 49.18 | 212.02 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 127.36 | 69.85 |
Jan 2021 | 82.88 | 21.19 | 82.31 | 0 | 0.57 | 32.43 | 17.1 |
Feb 2021 | 122.8 | 7.14 | 120.59 | 0 | 2.21 | 6.52 | 19.99 |
Mar 2021 | 367.61 | 34.87 | 361.15 | 0.29 | 6.17 | 22.62 | 25.06 |
Apr 2021 | 579.98 | 54.59 | 561.41 | 8.7 | 9.87 | 23.86 | 73.43 |
May 2021 | 1390.12 | 232.63 | 1302.88 | 49.3 | 37.94 | 26.65 | 284.99 |
Jun 2021 | 1061.37 | 243.65 | 1006.49 | 30.41 | 24.47 | 190.35 | 470.97 |
Jul 2021 | 1497.93 | 367.28 | 1468.61 | 13.3 | 16.02 | 117.73 | 733.7 |
Aug 2021 | 918.24 | 323.08 | 907.03 | 4.01 | 7.2 | 948.18 | 602.94 |
Sep 2021 | 984.61 | 338 | 977.05 | 1.07 | 6.49 | 1216.65 | 1111.23 |
Oct 2021 | 876.56 | 214.42 | 862.83 | 5.21 | 8.52 | 556.25 | 676.63 |
Nov 2021 | 249.49 | 59.31 | 247.58 | 1.37 | 0.54 | 43.12 | 71.87 |
Dec 2021 | 87.19 | 10.45 | 85.88 | 0 | 1.31 | 0.94 | 19.05 |
Jan 2022 | 430.44 | 47.17 | 426.96 | 0 | 3.48 | 26.43 | 99.14 |
Feb 2022 | 198.67 | 13.75 | 195.74 | 0.46 | 2.47 | 7.21 | 8.72 |
Mar 2022 | 312.23 | 25.2 | 309.36 | 0.4 | 2.47 | 11.03 | 16.33 |
Apr 2022 | 1026.35 | 123.44 | 1012.82 | 4.67 | 8.86 | 14.5 | 49.88 |
May 2022 | 899.64 | 108.02 | 884 | 6.19 | 9.45 | 1.22 | 108.8 |
Jun 2022 | 1120.2 | 93.18 | 1103.29 | 5.14 | 11.77 | 3.04 | 277 |
Jul 2022 | 1486.71 | 354.7 | 1405.85 | 68.88 | 11.98 | 3212.02 | 1308.24 |
Aug 2022 | 1661.02 | 347.12 | 1640.01 | 15.22 | 5.79 | 5668.93 | 575.83 |
Sep 2022 | 1454.76 | 353.71 | 1453.25 | 0.25 | 1.26 | 1962.87 | 647.88 |
Oct 2022 | 903.86 | 732.27 | 902.2 | 0.11 | 1.55 | 401.12 | 317.22 |
Nov 2022 | 554.66 | 118.3 | 549.76 | 0.59 | 4.31 | 399.57 | 424.34 |
Dec 2022 | 229.07 | 17.37 | 227.16 | 0.84 | 1.07 | 36.62 | 45.93 |
Jan 2023 | 166.58 | 7.62 | 162.27 | 2.43 | 1.88 | 24.68 | 8.24 |
Feb 2023 | 321.97 | 45.33 | 312.13 | 0.69 | 9.15 | 24.18 | 21.28 |
Mar 2023 | 356.14 | 34.79 | 335.36 | 10.5 | 10.28 | 21.57 | 79.31 |
Apr 2023 | 328.71 | 76.06 | 300.01 | 21.7 | 7 | 26.25 | 42.59 |
May 2023 | 812.32 | 170.12 | 544.33 | 256.05 | 11.94 | 49.98 | 591.6 |
Jun 2023 | 663 | 162.29 | 483.74 | 158.66 | 20.6 | 87.74 | 366.88 |
Jul 2023 | 499.91 | 248.54 | 442.57 | 47.5 | 9.84 | 42.89 | 770.16 |
Aug 2023 | 563.09 | 491.63 | 547.68 | 8.89 | 6.52 | 942.37 | 632.09 |
Sep 2023 | 629.32 | 714.74 | 613.51 | 0.81 | 15 | 1106.01 | 1064.73 |
Oct 2023 | 434.56 | 568.06 | 429.15 | 0.84 | 4.57 | 2366.51 | 683.49 |
Nov 2023 | 201.1 | 216.15 | 200.21 | 0.24 | 0.65 | 2126.17 | 172.68 |
Dec 2023 | 176.8 | 125.69 | 174.18 | 0.38 | 2.24 | 1446.74 | 218.89 |
Jan 2024 | 118.86 | 17.45 | 109.97 | 7.53 | 1.36 | 314.49 | 52.98 |
- From apps to Indigenous guardians: Ways we can save rainforests
Deforestation figures can be frustrating to look at, but there are a number of success stories when it comes to protecting tropical forests that we can learn from, Crystal Davis, global program director at the World Resources Institute, says in a recent Mongabay video. “We know what works. We know how to do it,” Davis
- The guardians of the Amazon who work without pay — or fear
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In a corner of the rainforest where Colombia meets Peru and Brazil, the hum of chainsaws and gunfire never quite dies. Yet, in the shadows of this long emergency, a subtler resistance endures. Its frontline is marked not
- Peru’s Indigenous aguaje harvesters turn to sustainability, but challenges remain
Indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon are working to revive populations of the aguaje palm tree, commercially valued for its fruits, by shifting to more sustainable harvesting practices, Mongabay’s Aimee Gabay reported in April. The reptilian-looking fruits of the aguaje palm tree (Mauritia flexuosa) are consumed raw or used as an ingredient in beverages, soap,
- Endangered primates use new canopy bridges in a Brazilian Amazon city
Hundreds of monkeys can now safely cross roads in Alta Floresta, a city in the southern Brazilian Amazon. Seven canopy bridges have reconnected rainforest fragments that were separated by urban roads. Camera traps have recorded more than 3,000 crossings by canopy-dwelling wildlife, an average of more than 12 a day, since October 2024, when the
- Organized crime & gold trade are increasingly connected, report shows
- Latin American cartels once were masters of the drug trade, but spikes in prices led them into controlling a new venture.- Criminals also took advantage of poor control over the mining sector and used it to launder money, a report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has found.- Drug trafficking groups may control the logistics and the equipment supply in gold mining sites or charge miners for the right to use a specific area.- In the Tapajós River Basin, in the Brazilian Amazon, gold mining is also closely connected with crimes like sexual abuse and human trafficking.
- ‘World’s largest’ carbon credit deal under fire as Amazon prosecutors seek repeal
- A Brazilian state was set to close a massive $180 million carbon credit deal, but now faces an escalating legal battle, accused of violating national laws and Indigenous rights, potentially ruining the project.- Brazil’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office is seeking to nullify the 2024 contract, which sells 12 million carbon credits from Pará to companies like Amazon, Bayer, H&M Group and Walmart.- Indigenous and Quilombola leaders voice concerns that the program could restrict their access to their land and interaction with nature, undermining inherent rights and deep spiritual connection to the rainforest.- Widespread accusations over the failure of free, prior, and informed consent for the project highlight ongoing criticism of carbon credit initiatives in Brazil and globally, after scandals involving unapproved use of traditional territories and a loss of confidence in REDD+ projects.
- After crackdown on illegal miners, Indigenous Munduruku still grapple with health aftermath
- In November 2024, the Brazilian government launched an operation to oust illegal gold miners from the Munduruku Indigenous Territory in the Amazon Rainforest.- However, there was little government action to address health issues in the aftermath of the destruction wrought by gold mining, Indigenous leaders and experts say.- A wide range of diseases linked to mercury contamination and other environmental destruction derived from illegal gold mining spread in Munduruku lands, including diarrhea, itchiness, flu, fever, childhood paralysis and brain problems.- Munduruku leaders sent a letter to the federal government requiring actions to provide health assistance to their people, detailing a list of required actions, including measures to combat mercury contamination, malaria, food insecurity and lack of drinking water.
- Brazil & China megarailway raises deforestation warnings in the Amazon
- Brazilian and Chinese authorities — including Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Xi Jinping — recently discussed a proposed railway that would connect Brazil’s Atlantic coast to Peru’s new Pacific-facing Chancay Port, cutting through the Amazon.- From Lucas do Rio Verde, a major agricultural hub in the state of Mato Grosso, the railway would be built from scratch, advancing into the Amazon’s Arc of Deforestation.- Planners intend to build the Amazonian section of the railway alongside existing highways, a strategy aimed at minimizing environmental impacts and streamlining the licensing process.- However, environmental activists warn that the Bioceanic Corridor, together with newly planned roads, waterways and ports, could accelerate deforestation and degradation in the rainforest.
- Mongabay investigation of sketchy forest finance schemes wins honorable mention
Mongabay contributor Glòria Pallarès earned an honorable mention in the 2025 Trace Prize for Investigative Reporting, announced May 28, for her investigation into how Indigenous communities in Peru, Bolivia and Panama were misled into handing over their rights to millions of hectares of forest. The January 2024 investigation, “False claims of U.N. backing see Indigenous
- EU appetite for EVs drives new wave of deforestation in tropical forests
- The European Union’s demand for electric vehicles may lead to the deforestation of 118,000 hectares (291,584 acres) in critical minerals-supplying countries, according to a new report.- Brazil, which accounts for large reserves of nickel, graphite, rare earths, lithium and niobium, would be one of the most affected countries.- Despite the mining project’s socioenvironmental impacts, the Brazilian federal government has backed companies with financing and political support.- Experts warn that the new minerals rush increases pressure on Indigenous communities already suffering from mining companies’ violations.