Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon hits September record as fires spike

Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest affected the largest area for a September since current records began, government data from last month showed on Friday, as fires in the region surged to their highest level in more than a decade.
Satellite data from Brazilian space research agency INPE showed that 1,455 square kilometers (562 square miles) were cleared in the Amazon last month, up 48% from a year ago and beating the September 2019 record in a data series that began in 2015.
Friday’s preliminary figures also pushed deforestation in the region to a record high for the first nine months of the year, according to INPE, with 8,590 square kilometers cleared from January to September, equal to an area 11 times the size of New York City and up 22.6% from last year.
Annual statistics released last year showed deforestation had already surged to a 15-year high under President Jair Bolsonaro.