Brazil Amazon deforestation up in June, set for worst year in over a decade

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of a tract of Amazon jungle after it was cleared by farmers in Itaituba, Para, Brazil September 26, 2019. Picture taken September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes/File Photo

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rose for the 14th consecutive month in June, preliminary government data on Friday showed, heaping further pressure on President Jair Bolsonaro who is under fire for worsening destruction of the rainforest on his watch.

Destruction rose 10.7% percent for the month, compared to June 2019, according to national space research agency Inpe. In the first six months of the year, deforestation is now up 25% to 3,066 square kilometers (1,184 square miles), agency data showed.