BRASILIA — Brazilian officials announced a sharp drop in Amazon deforestation rates for May, with preliminary satellite data showing a 61.4% decrease compared with the same month a year earlier.
The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change released the figures on Thursday. According to the data, about 370 square kilometers of rainforest were cleared in May, the lowest level recorded for that month.
Environment Minister João Paulo Capobianco said the May figure represented the lowest ever recorded for the month and indicated that Brazil was on track for its lowest annual deforestation levels once full data is consolidated.
"In May, Amazon deforestation was 61.4% lower than in the same month in 2025," officials from INPE and the ministry stated.
Over the 10-month period from August 2025 to May 2026, deforestation in the Amazon fell by 37.5% compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the government data.
The announcement comes as Brazil continues efforts under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration to strengthen enforcement against illegal logging and land clearing. Earlier data from INPE's systems had already shown declines in prior periods, including an 11% drop for the 12 months through July 2025 to the lowest level in over a decade.
Deforestation also decreased in Brazil's Cerrado savanna biome, falling 12% in May compared with the previous year, though that region faces ongoing pressures from agriculture.
The figures are based on INPE's real-time monitoring systems, such as DETER, which provide preliminary alerts used for enforcement. Official annual totals from the PRODES system, which use higher-resolution analysis, are typically consolidated later.
Brazil has faced international scrutiny over Amazon protection, including recent trade tensions. Officials presented the latest data as evidence of progress in environmental enforcement.
Details on the causes of remaining deforestation, including specific drivers such as illegal activities or agricultural expansion, were not specified in the Thursday announcement. Independent monitoring groups have broadly aligned with the downward trend observed in government data in recent periods.
As of Thursday, Brazilian authorities said monitoring and enforcement actions would continue to sustain the reductions. Full annual results for the current deforestation year, which runs from August to July, are expected in the coming months.
