Amazon deforestation officially hits highest level in a decade

Amazon rainforest

Deforestation has reached record levels in the Amazon for this decade

Victor Moriyama/Getty Images

Deforestation in the Amazon over the past year hit its highest level in a more than a decade, satellite data from the Brazilian space agency has revealed.

The loss of nearly 10,000 square kilometres of forest between August 2018 and July 2019 is the first official confirmation that deforestation has soared since Jair Bolsnaro became president in January on a promise to develop the Amazon.

Logging and burning of the world’s greatest rainforest jumped by 29.5 per cent in that period compared with the …

source: newscientist.com