Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, August 2014 to May 2016. According to SAD, deforestation (total conversion of forest to other alternative uses of the soil) reached 474 square kilometres in May 2016. Graphic: Imazon / SAD

[Translation by Bing Translator.] By Antônio Fonseca, Marcelo Justino, Carlos Souza Jr., and Adalberto Veríssimo
16 June 2016 (Imazon) – In May 2016, 34% of the forested area of the Amazon rainforest was covered by clouds, less coverage than May 2015 (39%). States with larger cloud coverage were Amapá (70%) and Roraima (61%). In the analyzed period, and under these conditions, SAD detected 474 square kilometres of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. This represents an increase of 22% compared to May 2015 when deforestation totaled 388 square kilometers. In May 2016, deforestation was concentrated in the Amazon (37%), Rondônia (22%), Pará (21%), and Mato Grosso (15%), with minor occurrences in Roraima (3%), Tocantins, (1%) and Acre (1%).

Forest degradation in the Amazon rainforest, August 2014 to May 2016. Graphic: Imazon / SAD

Degraded forests in the Amazon rainforest totaled 1,959 square kilometers in May 2016. Compared to May 2015, when forest degradation scored 33 square kilometers, there was an increase of 5,785%.

In May 2016, SAD registered 1,959 square kilometers of degraded forests (forests intensely explored by logging activity and/or burned). Of this total, the vast majority (91%) occurred in Pará, followed by Rondônia (4%), Mato Grosso (4%), and Amazon (1%).

Boletim do desmatamento da Amazônia Legal (maio de 2016) SAD