Amazon rainforest lost area the size of Spain since 1985, data shows

AFP

15 Sep, 2025 10:13 PM2 mins to read

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Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has shrunk by an area the size of Spain over four decades and is approaching a dangerous tipping point, according to data released today by the MapBiomas monitoring platform. Photo / Pablo Porciuncula, AFP

Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has shrunk by an area as big as Spain over four decades and is nearing a dangerous tipping point, according to monitoring data released today.

The Amazon was approaching a “point of no return” of 20 to 25% vegetation loss at which it “ceases to sustain itself
as a rainforest”, said Bruno Ferreira, a researcher at the MapBiomas monitoring platform.

“When too much vegetation is lost, the rain cycle is disrupted, and large areas tend to transform into drier savannas.”

Brazil, which will host the United Nations Cop30 climate conference in the Amazonian city of Belem in November, is home to 60% of the rainforest which spans nine countries.

Satellite images studied by MapBiomas showed the loss of 49.1 million ha of rainforest between 1985 and 2024.