Deforestation of Brazilian savanna surged some 25% in a year

Deforestation in the world’s most biologically diverse savanna, the Brazilian Cerrado, rose by around 25% in the 12 months through July from the previous period, two people familiar with the still unreleased government data told Reuters.
Brazil has yet to publish its official annual figures for Cerrado deforestation, based on satellite analysis by the government’s space research agency Inpe. The sources requested anonymity as the data is not yet public.
Inpe declined to comment. A third source not authorized to speak to the media said the data would be released on Wednesday.
Such an increase would mean more than 10,000 square kilometers (3,861 square miles) of forest and other native savanna vegetation were destroyed in the 12 months, the most since 2015.