New satellite data suggests the loss of tropical rainforests slowed in 2025, largely due to Brazil’s efforts to curb deforestation in the Amazon, according to BBC.

Researchers estimate that nearly 43,000 square kilometres (17,000 square miles) of old-growth tropical forests were lost globally in 2025 — an area roughly the size of Denmark. While this represents about a third lower than the record losses in 2024, scientists warn that tropical forests — among the Earth’s most important ecosystems — are still disappearing at a rate far exceeding a decade ago.

Analysis from the World Resources Institute and the University of Maryland shows that tropical forest loss fell by 36% in 2025. Researchers note that part of the decline reflects an easing of the unprecedented fires of 2024, aided by cooler La Niña conditions replacing the warmer El Niño pattern.

But greater efforts to protect forests in countries such as Brazil, Colombia, and Malaysia have also contributed to the improvement. “It’s incredibly encouraging to see the decline in 2025,” said Elizabeth Goldman, co-director of Global Forest Watch at the World Resources Institute. “It highlights how when we have political will and the leaders in charge who want to do something for forests, we can see real results in the data.”

In Brazil, home to the world’s largest rainforest, researchers point to the impact of stronger environmental policies and law enforcement in slowing deforestation. Excluding losses driven by fires, an estimated 5,700 square kilometres of old-growth tropical forests disappeared in Brazil last year — the lowest figure since the analysis began in 2002.

However, scientists express concern about the arrival of the El Niño weather pattern later this year, warning that a two-pronged assault from climate change and El Niño could increase the likelihood and severity of forest fires.

At the 2021 COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, world leaders pledged to “halt and reverse” forest loss by 2030, but progress toward that goal remains significantly off track.

Sources: BBC News, World Resources Institute