Brazil records 65 per cent drop in Amazon area burned by fire
The area of Amazon rainforest lost to fires in Brazil in July fell 65 per cent compared to a year ago, the MapBiomas monitoring platform said Wednesday, boosting the government as it prepares to host the UN climate change conference.
Satellite images showed that 143,000 hectares (353,360 acres) of the world's biggest tropical forest were razed by fires last month, down dramatically from the same month last year, when a historic drought whipped up record numbers of fires.
The figure -- the smallest since MapBiomas began monthly satellite mapping of fire damage in 2019 -- comes three months before President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hosts the COP30 UN conference in the Amazon city of Belem.
Across Brazil, 748,000 hectares of land were consumed by fire in July, down 40 percent on last year.
Between January and July, a total of 2.45 million hectares burned across Brazil, down 59 per cent over the same period in 2024.
The Cerrado, a vast region of tropical savannah in central Brazil, suffered the worst destruction in July, with 571,000 hectares going up in flames, down 16 percent in a year.
Felipe Martenexen, a researcher at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute, attributed the improvements to a 'more intense and sustained rainy season' this year.
He added that the environmental and economic damage wrought by the 2024 fires and increased surveillance by the authorities of land clearance may also have 'led farmers and residents to be more careful.'
While drought abetted the spread of fires last year, many of the blazes were started illegally by people clearing land for agriculture.
Lula has pledged to end Amazon deforestation by 2030.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
8 hours ago
- CTV News
Brazil records 65 per cent drop in Amazon area burned by fire
A fire burns along the road to Jacunda National Forest, near the city of Porto Velho in the Vila Nova Samuel region which is part of Brazil's Amazon, Monday, Aug. 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) The area of Amazon rainforest lost to fires in Brazil in July fell 65 per cent compared to a year ago, the MapBiomas monitoring platform said Wednesday, boosting the government as it prepares to host the UN climate change conference. Satellite images showed that 143,000 hectares (353,360 acres) of the world's biggest tropical forest were razed by fires last month, down dramatically from the same month last year, when a historic drought whipped up record numbers of fires. The figure -- the smallest since MapBiomas began monthly satellite mapping of fire damage in 2019 -- comes three months before President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hosts the COP30 UN conference in the Amazon city of Belem. Across Brazil, 748,000 hectares of land were consumed by fire in July, down 40 percent on last year. Between January and July, a total of 2.45 million hectares burned across Brazil, down 59 per cent over the same period in 2024. The Cerrado, a vast region of tropical savannah in central Brazil, suffered the worst destruction in July, with 571,000 hectares going up in flames, down 16 percent in a year. Felipe Martenexen, a researcher at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute, attributed the improvements to a 'more intense and sustained rainy season' this year. He added that the environmental and economic damage wrought by the 2024 fires and increased surveillance by the authorities of land clearance may also have 'led farmers and residents to be more careful.' While drought abetted the spread of fires last year, many of the blazes were started illegally by people clearing land for agriculture. Lula has pledged to end Amazon deforestation by 2030.
CTV News
11 hours ago
- CTV News
Tortoise hatchlings born of century-old parents come out of their shells at Philadelphia Zoo
Staff members pose for photographs with several of the 16 critically endangered western Santa Cruz tortoise hatchlings during their debut at the Philadelphia Zoo on Aug. 20, 2025. (Matt Rourke / AP Photo) PHILADELPHIA — Sixteen critically endangered western Santa Cruz tortoises born to some very old parents got a slow walk and the red carpet treatment Wednesday at a Philadelphia Zoo event to show off the highly prized hatchlings. Animal care specialists who have watched over the 16 since they were eggs held the animals on a pathway by the zoo's tortoise habitat. The hatchlings are said to be eating well and growing. The pampered turtles were born in a series of hatches this year to Mommy and Abrazzo, a couple that is estimated to both be about 100 years old. Mommy arrived at the zoo in 1932, but had not produced offspring until Abrazzo was brought in nearly five years ago from Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in Columbia, S.C. The 16 are her first progeny. 'Now this animal, who's been in Philadelphia since 1932, will be represented here for, hopefully, another 100 years because her offspring are now part of our collection,' said Lauren Augustine, the zoo's director of herpetology. Four females that hatched early this spring were named after characters in the TV show ' Golden Girls.' Three males were hatched in April, and that was followed by Mommy's second clutch, which resulted in three females in June and six males this summer. Mommy and Abrazzo are the Philadelphia Zoo's oldest inhabitants and seen as highly genetically valuable for the survival of the species. Their offspring are considered a win in the effort to preserve western Santa Cruz tortoises. They are expected to remain at the zoo for at least a year before being placed in different facilities next fall. Western Santa Cruz tortoises are among the 13 living species of tortoise native to seven islands in the Galapagos chain in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Ecuador. The largest species of tortoise, they are thought to live as long as 200 years. The zoo is soliciting donors to suggest names for one of the hatchlings, a male, subject to zoo approval. Others are named Zee, James, Colette, Soledad, Isabelle, Roger, Fausto, Caldero, Lee, Marigold Puddlefoot and Kelpy. The zoo uses nontoxic nail polish in different colors to distinguish them from each other. The Philadelphia Zoo also has two giant Aldabra tortoises, Wilma and Betty. A 135-year-old Galapagos tortoise named Goliath became a father for the first time at Zoo Miami in June.
Globe and Mail
21 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Burn after weeding
In photos To keep wildfires at bay in Catalonia, herders enlist goats and their voracious appetites to reshape the countryside Photography by Albert Gea Reporting by Albert Gea and Horaci Garcia Mataro, spain Reuters Updated Yesterday to view this content.
