Technology and Science21 July, 20262 min read
Brazil’s Amazon Fires Plunge to Historic Low in 2025, MapBiomas Report Says
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2025 Amazon burned area: 3.1 million hectares, the smallest since 1985 MapBiomas records. 2024 saw 15.8 million hectares burned, a record-high preceding the 2025 decline.
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Amazon fires plunge
Fires in Brazil’s Amazon fell to a historic low in 2025 after peaking the previous year, according to MapBiomas’ Annual Fire Report released on Tuesday (21). The report says the Amazon recorded 3.1 million hectares burned in 2025, after reaching 15.8 million hectares the previous year, and that this was the lowest burned area in 41 years. MapBiomas also reported that the burned area in Brazil in 2025 was nearly half that recorded in 2024 and 31% below the historical average for the 1985-2025 period.
“The Amazon recorded 3.1 million hectares burned in 2025, after reaching a record 15.8 million hectares the previous year.”
Valor InternationalIn addition to the Amazon, the report highlighted that the Cerrado remained the country’s most affected biome, with 8.7 million hectares burned last year, while the Pantanal recorded only 121,000 hectares burned in 2025. The analysis further stated that most of the burned area in Brazil (71.5%) consisted of native vegetation, while in the Amazon fires occur predominantly in human-modified areas such as pastureland.
Valor InternationalWhy the decline
Geographer and report coordinator Ane Alencar said the decline was “out of the ordinary,” explaining that a delayed rainy season between 2024 and 2025 blocked the emergence of the “ideal window for burning in certain areas” where fire is used to clear agricultural land. Alencar also told reporters that the drop in fires was linked to a significant reduction in deforestation, which “drastically reduc[ed] the amount of fuel available to start fires.” Valor International quoted Ane Alencar’s statement that “More than showing how much of Brazil burned in a given year, the MapBiomas Fogo historical series helps us understand how fire regimes are changing over time.”
The report also emphasized that “most fires are started by human activity,” and it highlighted the pattern during El Niño years such as 2007, 2010, and 2024. In the Amazon, MapBiomas’ analysis warned that fires tend to recur more frequently than in other biomes, with 31.6% of areas that have already burned reignite within a period of up to two years.
What’s at stake next
Even with the 2025 drop, the report warned about the possible arrival of a “super El Niño” this year, which could bring “an extended dry season and a greater risk of forest fires.” Valor International quoted Arruda saying that “In the Amazon, a biome that is not historically adapted to fire, forest fires degrade the forest and leave burned areas more vulnerable to future fires,” tying the stakes to future vulnerability. MapBiomas’ findings also pointed to how often burned areas return, stating that 52% of areas reignite within up to four years and that 64% of all burned area in Brazil over the past 41 years burned more than once.
“‘In El Niño years, we tend to see more area burned,’ Arruda said.”
Valor InternationalThe report further said that the Amazon and the Cerrado together account for 86% of all land that has burned at least once since 1985, and that just 15 municipalities account for 11% of all land burned in Brazil. With Brazil’s elections approaching, MapBiomas’ data was framed as relevant for priorities and prevention, and Valor International said the series helps “implementing Brazil’s National Integrated Fire Management Policy more effectively.”
Valor International