Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon at highest level since 2006

Increase comes despite Jair Bolsonaro's efforts to show his government is taking environmental preservation seriously

Deforestation in Brazils Amazon rainforest soared 22% in the past year to the highest level since 2006, the government's annual report has shown, undercutting president Jair Bolsonaro's assurances that the country is curbing illegal logging.

Brazils space research agency, INPE, recorded 13,235sq km (5,110 square miles) of deforestation in the world's largest rainforest in satellite data, the report showed on Thursday, an area nearly 17 times the size of New York City. The official deforestation data covers a period from August 2020 through to July 2021.