Let’s start with the good news: overall deforestation in the Amazon decreased in the last year! But the Amazon is still burning, and the fires have become more intense. Why is this happening?

In 2023, fires in old growth forest areas across the Amazon increased by 152% compared to 2022. In Brazil, this situation worsened in 2024, when more than 53,000 fires were recorded through August – an 80% increase from the same period in 2023.

This is how climate change operates: the warming climate is causing more frequent droughts, which dry out the forest, leading to deeper and more widespread fires – further intensifying climate change. It’s a destructive feedback loop.

The Amazon rainforest, once constantly shrouded in mist, now faces prolonged droughts, along with ongoing deforestation. While we may be slowing the rate of deforestation, the damage already done increases the forest’s flammability, as the vast, continuous green expanse of the Amazon is starting to resemble an archipelago more and more.

Permanently protecting Indigenous territories is the solution to breaking this feedback loop and rescuing the Amazon from death by fire. Since 1996, Amazon Watch has stood with our Indigenous allies throughout the Amazon rainforest to halt this destructive cycle, and we're not stopping now.