MapBiomas says Brazil Amazon fires fell to record low in 2025

On 21 July 2026, environmental monitoring network MapBiomas reported that fires in the Brazilian Amazon fell to their lowest level in 2025 since its records began in 1985, after peaking the year before.

Using satellite images, MapBiomas said 3.1 million hectares, or 7.7 million acres, burned in the Amazon in 2025. It said the fall reversed the severe situation in 2024, when an unprecedented drought helped fires spread through the rainforest. The source said most of those fires were man-made.

MapBiomas also said burned areas across Brazil were at their smallest since 2018. Report coordinator Ane Alencar told reporters the decline was unusual. She said a delayed rainy season between 2024 and 2025 prevented the usual burning window in some areas where fire is used to clear agricultural land.

The report said poorly managed agricultural fires are worsened by illegal practices such as deforestation, which it said is common in areas where illegal mining occurs. MapBiomas said deforestation also eased in 2025, reducing the amount of material that can fuel fires. It also cited a psychological factor, saying communities that feared a repeat of the 2024 fire season helped control outbreaks.

The report said the fall interrupted several years of expansion in burned areas and returned Brazil to a historically lower level. Alencar said central Brazil's Cerrado savanna continued burning at similar rates. She also warned that a possible super El Nino this year could bring a longer dry season and a higher risk of forest fires.

The Amazon is important for climate protection because its dense vegetation absorbs greenhouse gases. Official data from the first quarter of 2026 showed deforestation at its lowest rate this decade, according to the source. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has pledged to eradicate deforestation by 2030 and is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term in October elections, partly by promoting environmental policies. His support for a major offshore oil exploration project off the Amazon coast has drawn strong criticism from activists.