Amazon records smallest burned area in over 40 years in 2025

Reasons for the decline

The contrast with the previous year is significant: in 2024, an unprecedented drought had favored the spread of fires in the Amazon region. Researchers attribute the dryness at the time in part to the weather phenomenon Super El Niño. As a result, burned areas soared to the previous record level.

President Lula, who has been in office since January 2023, has set the goal of stopping illegal deforestation of the Amazon rainforest by 2030. Environmental organizations see the figures now presented as a signal that more consistent controls, satellite monitoring, and fines against slash-and-burn clearing could be taking effect. Brazilian researcher Ane Alencar of the Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia had already pointed out during the 2024 drought the urgency of better equipping firefighting efforts in terms of personnel and technology.

Significance for climate protection

The dense vegetation of the Amazon absorbs greenhouse gases that cause global warming. "The protection of the Amazon is crucial in the fight against climate change," experts emphasize. At the same time, they warn that a single favorable year with a late rainy season does not relieve the rainforest in the long term. Without further reductions in deforestation, the ecosystem remains vulnerable to future droughts.

This news was broadcast on 21.07.2026 on the program Deutschlandfunk. The station relied on reports from the news agency AFP and data from the Brazilian space agency INPE.

Risks remain

Despite the positive development, the situation remains tense. While the Amazon in southern and western Brazil recorded significantly fewer fires in 2025, researchers continued to observe hotspots in the eastern Amazon basin, where illegal clearing for soy and cattle pastures has increased. The 2026 dry season is also approaching – observers expect initial statements on the new burned area no earlier than the end of the year.

International climate talks regularly take the rainforest into focus. The Brazilian government is using the recent figures to build confidence and announced that it would increase funding for the environmental police ICMBio and the early warning system for firefighting. Environmental associations are simultaneously calling for binding steps against the legalization of already cleared land.