MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Deforestation in Brazilian Amazon hits record highs

The situation has worsened under President Jair Bolsonaro

Brazil's Amazon lost 903.8 square kilometers of forest during the month of October of 2022, which is tantamount to 3% more than in the same period last year, the National Institute of Special Research (INPE) reported during the weekend.

“This is equivalent to 123,986 football fields,” Greenpeace Brazil said.

The latest results are a new negative record for October, including the 4,586 deforestation warnings sent by the satellite system that supports these analyses in real time, INPE also pointed out.

In the first 10 months of this year, 9,994 square kilometers of native vegetation were razed, the highest rate since measurements were first taken in 2015, INPE reported.

The devastation of the Amazon rainforest up to October already exceeds that of the entire 2021 when 8,219 square kilometers were affected, the alert adds.

“The moment is crucial for the Amazon, because the world's climate depends on it and, consequently, the economy, agriculture, and the health of all the inhabitants of this planet,” Greenpeace Brazil's André Freitas said.

“We need to leave the realm of promises and move on to real action,” he added.

Environmental organizations worldwide have warned that deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon is close to reaching a point of no return, something which has worsened under President Jair Bolsonaro.

INPE's monthly reports are based on satellite imagery from the Real-Time Legal Amazon Deforestation Detection System (Deter).