Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon declined 20.7% in August year-over-year, the second month of annual declines in forest clearing after months of alarming increases of deforestation, Mongabay reports.
The country’s analysis of satellite data determined 1,359 square kilometers of forest was cleared during August, an area 23 times the size of Manhattan, according to the report. In July, deforestation declined 26.7% year-over-year.
As deforestation has decreased, fires in the Amazon have been “accelerating rapidly” in September, surging to 53 fires per day in September, an increase from 18 in August and two in July.
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