South America | 22 October 2026
The story in brief
Brazil has reported that less of the Amazon rainforest was cleared than in any year since records began in 1988.
Clearing means removing trees from an area of land.
Who is involved?
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Brazil's space research agency: A government organisation that uses satellites to measure changes in forests.
What happened?
On 16 October, Brazil released new information about the Amazon rainforest.
Scientists used satellite images to measure how much forest had been cleared.
Satellites take pictures of Earth from space.
The results showed that much less forest was cleared than the year before.
What is the background?
The Amazon is a very large rainforest in South America.
For many years, people have cleared large areas of the rainforest.
Why does it matter?
The results show an important improvement in protecting the rainforest.
However, a large area of forest was still cleared.
What happens next?
Brazil's space research agency measures forest clearing every year.
Future measurements will show whether the improvement continues.
Source: Reuters, 16 October 2026