941 sq kms of Amazon forest gone in 3 months
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon set a new quarterly record in the first three months of 2022 compared to a year earlier, official data showed yesterday. Satellite images revealed the destruction of 941 square kilometers (363 square miles) of rain forest -- the highest quarterly rate since the start of Brazil's Deter monitoring program in 2015. Since Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro entered office in 2019, Brazil's average annual deforestation in the Amazon, a crucial resource in the race to curb climate change, has risen more than 75 percent from the previous decade. The destruction is driven mainly by farming and land speculation in agricultural powerhouse Brazil, the world's biggest exporter of beef and soy. The country hosts about 60 percent of the Amazon forest. The new figures suggest Brazil may be on track to set a new yearly deforestation record in 2022.
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