Brazil’s Amazon deforestation surges to worst in 15 years

Highway BR-163 stretches between the Tapajos National Forest, left, and a soy field in Belterra, Para state, Brazil (Leo Correa/AP)

The area deforested in Brazil’s Amazon has reached a 15-year high after a 22% jump from the prior year, according to official data.

The National Institute for Space Research’s Prodes monitoring system showed the Brazilian Amazon lost 13,235 square kilometres of rainforest in the 12-month reference period from August 2020 to July 2021.