Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon skyrockets to 12-year high under Bolsonaro

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view shows a tree at the center of a deforested plot of the Amazon near Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil August 14, 2020. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

(Reuters) -Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest surged to a 12-year high in 2020, official government data showed on Monday, with destruction soaring since President Jair Bolsonaro took office and weakened environmental enforcement.

In 2020, destruction of the world's largest rainforest rose 9.5% from a year earlier to 11,088 square kilometers (2.7 million acres), according to data from Brazil's national space research agency Inpe, seven times the size of London.