Who Was Affected by the Drop in Burned Area in 2025?
After experiencing one of its worst fire seasons in 2024, Brazil recorded a significant drop in burned area last year. According to the Annual Fire Report in Brazil, released by MapBiomas, the country lost 12.7 million hectares to fire in 2025. This is almost half of the area recorded in 2024 and 31% below the historical average since 1985.
Why Does the Drop in Burned Area Matter?
The drop, which interrupted a sequence of fire expansion in recent years, was mainly driven by the Amazon, whose burned area in 2025 was the lowest in the historical series, with 3.1 million hectares. In the previous year, the Amazon biome recorded its worst historical index, with over 15 million hectares burned. This has significant implications for biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation.
The Scientific Mechanism Behind the Drop in Burned Area
The Cerrado also recorded fewer flames in 2025 than the historical average, but remains the biome most affected by fire, with 8.7 million hectares burned. The Pantanal had the largest proportional drop among all biomes, with 121,000 hectares burned last year – the lowest index in the historical series. The Caatinga was the only biome to record burns above average in 2025, with 505,000 hectares burned.
Broader Context: How This Compares to Other Years and Regions
Almost half (47%) of the entire burned area in Brazil since 1985 is concentrated in three states: Mato Grosso (45.1 million hectares), Pará (31.6 million), and Maranhão (20.7 million), according to MapBiomas. At the municipal level, 11% of the entire burned area in the country over the last 41 years is concentrated in 15 cities, with Corumbá (MS) and São Félix do Xingu (PA) leading the historical ranking.
What's Next: Implications and Open Questions
The panorama of the last four decades makes it clear how fire has become an increasingly frequent problem in Brazilian biomes. According to MapBiomas, 64% of everything that has caught fire in Brazil since 1985 has burned more than once, and the Cerrado is the biome with the highest proportion of area burned more than once (66%). Of the national total, 52% of areas with recurrence burned again within 4 years.
Consequences and Forecasts for the Future
These data reinforce scientists' concerns about the “Super El Niño”, which could cause extreme drought in the Amazon in the coming months, favoring the spread of fire. “In El Niño years, we tend to have more burned area (...) because [the phenomenon] leaves vegetation drier and more susceptible to fires. And it's worth remembering that most fire ignition sources are human,” observed Vera Laisa Arruda, a researcher at IPAM and MapBiomas.
Source / Reference
Original URL: https://climainfo.org.br/2026/07/21/mapbiomas-area-queimada-cai-em-2025-e-interrompe-sequencia-de-altas/