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Forest area after a fire in the Amazon region
Photo: Andre Penner / dpa
In April, Brazil exceeded 1,000 square kilometers of deforested Amazon rainforest.
The deforested area of 1012.5 square kilometers is the highest value for the month of April.
And it's the first time since 2015 that the figure has exceeded 1,000 square kilometers in April, according to preliminary data from the National Institute for Space Research (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, or Inpe for short).
The Inpe evaluates satellite images.
The institute examines changes in the forest in real time.
The Inpe figures give an indication of how the official deforestation rate could develop in relation to one year.
According to provisional INPE figures, deforestation had already reached a record level in the previous months, which is increasingly worrying environmentalists.
Deforestation of the Amazon forest increased sharply, especially during the tenure of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro, in office since 2019, sees untapped economic potential in the Amazon region and wants to develop even more land for agriculture, mining and energy production.
"The Bolsonaro government is fueling deforestation and environmental crime, and what we're reaping are these horrific, frightening, outrageous numbers," said Marcio Astrini, head of the Climate Obeservatory activist network.
Bolsonaro used Russia's attack on Ukraine to justify the exploitation of indigenous lands to mine potassium for fertilizer.
ktz/dpa/AFP
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