Brazil’s Burned Area Falls 31% in 2025 as Amazon Fires Drop to 41-Year Low

Overview

• The MapBiomas 2025 Annual Fire Report, published in late July, found 12.7 million hectares burned in 2025, about 31% below the 1985–2024 average and roughly half the area burned in 2024.
• The Amazon registered just 3.1 million hectares burned in 2025, the smallest area recorded since satellite monitoring began in 1985, while the Cerrado remained the most affected bioma with 8.7 million hectares.
• Long‑term data show 208.4 million hectares have burned at least once since 1985 and 64% of that area has burned more than once, with rapid reburns common: 52% of recurring areas burned again within four years and 31.6% of recurring Amazon areas reburned within two years.
• For the first time the report maps burn severity (low to extreme) and calculates fire‑return intervals, tools designed to help agencies prioritize municipalities, states and habitat types for prevention, firefighting and ecological restoration.
• MapBiomas and researchers say later rains and reduced deforestation helped drive 2025’s drop but warn that concentrated hotspot states, short fire‑return intervals, and a likely strong El Niño could quickly reverse gains and heighten risks to people, biodiversity and forest recovery.