Overview
- MapBiomas found that about three million hectares burned in the Amazon in 2025, the smallest area recorded since monitoring began in 1983.
- Report coordinator Ane Alencar linked the decline to a delayed rainy season, less deforestation that left less fuel to burn, and increased local efforts after the severe 2024 fires.
- National burned area also fell sharply overall in 2025, but large-scale fires continue in the Cerrado savanna of central Brazil.
- The figures give political weight to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s anti-deforestation agenda ahead of his October 2026 reelection bid and his goal to end illegal Amazon clearing by 2030.
- Scientists warn the improvement may be temporary because a possible Super‑El Niño could bring extended drought, higher fire risk and renewed pressure on the Amazon’s role as a global carbon sink.