The area of forest consumed by fires in the Amazon region dropped to its lowest level in 40 years in 2025, according to the annual report of the Brazilian land monitoring initiative MapBiomas.

About 3.1 million hectares were damaged by fires last year, a decline of nearly 80% compared to 2024. Forest fires in Brazil also decreased overall, with flames consuming 12.7 million hectares across the country. That represents a decline from more than 30 million hectares after a severe drought in the previous year, and is the lowest level since 2018.

In a separate statement, MapBiomas reported that the area of land covered by water in the Amazon region increased in 2025 after two years of drought, driven by higher rainfall rates, and the area covered by water reached about 2.6% above the historical average. Researcher Bruno Ferreira explained that this recovery is a positive development, but warned that the long-term situation remains concerning, with increasing frequency of extreme weather events in the region. He noted that climate change and land-use changes are affecting water levels. An analysis of the past 40 years showed that more than 49% of the total areas affected by fires were located on privately owned rural lands, while about 8% were within residential areas.