The deforestation of Brazil's Amazon rainforest reached a record high for the first seven months of the year.
Preliminary government data detailing the scale of the destruction was released as the region approaches the traditional peak of the annual burning season.
Satellite data showed 5,474 sq/km were cleared in the region from January to July, up 7.3% from the same period of last year.
That is almost the size of Co Mayo and is equal to an area seven times the size of New York City.
It breaks the record levels of deforestation set in 2021, according to Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), which collects the data.
In July alone, deforestation totaled 1,487 sq/km, roughly in line with the same month in 2021.
Environmentalists and experts blame President Jair Bolsonaro for rolling back environmental protections, and allowing loggers and ranchers to illegally clear more of the Amazon.
"The figures shock, but don't surprise," said Marcio Astrini, head of the environmental group Climate Observatory.
He said that "out of control" deforestation in the Amazon was a consequence of government policies reducing protection.
Responding to the figures, the Environment Ministry in Brazil claimed that, in the 12 months to the end of July, there was a 2.16% drop in deforestation over the previous year.
During August and September, ranchers and farmers often set fire to areas deforested earlier in the year.
In July, Inpe fire alerts increased by almost a tenth (8%) on the previous year to a total 5,373, but remained below the average of 6,213 over recent years.
Last month, Brazil's environmental authority granted an initial permit that will allow a major highway to be paved through the center of the rainforest, a move that threatens to further increase deforestation.
