In 2024, the Amazon rainforest experienced its most devastating fires in over two decades, attributed to “climate extremes and human activities” by the Copernicus Climate Change Agency.
“The 2025 statistics are crucial, demonstrating that it is feasible to minimize the burned area in the country,” commented Vera Arruda, a researcher at the Amazon Environmental Institute (IPAM) and coordinator of Map Biomass, in an interview with the BBC.
“The 31% reduction from the historical average is primarily due to the lowest number of recorded fires in the Amazon in 41 years. While this is encouraging, we cannot yet determine if this represents a lasting trend or lessen our prevention efforts,” Arruda cautioned.
The MapBiomas report indicates a significant decrease in the area burned by 2025, not only in the Amazon but across Brazil as well.
According to the data, approximately 12.7 million hectares burned in Brazil in 2025, a stark contrast to the 30 million hectares burned in 2024.
The highest recorded number of hectares burned in Brazil occurred in 2007, with 30.7 million hectares devastated across the nation.
The decline in fire incidents in 2025 partly reflects the unprecedented reduction of wildfires in 2024, supported by cooler La Niña conditions, as opposed to the warmer El Niño.
However, MapBiomas cautions that the El Niño weather phenomenon, known for raising global temperatures, could prolong this year’s dry season and heighten the risk of forest fires.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk