In the same period, deforestation also increased. INPE's Prodes System records over 10,000 km₂ of felled forest between August 2018 and July 2019, almost double the records for the previous 12 months.

The Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) indicates that fire associated with recent deforestation accounts for 34% of the total of heat sources by fire type in the Amazon biome, in 2019. “In the process of deforestation, fire is the final step", adds biologist Erika Berenguer, from Lancaster University.

The four municipalities that most deforested in 2019 also top the list of those that had the most hotspots: Altamira and São Félix do Xingu, in the State of Pará; Porto Velho, in the State of Rondônia; and Lábrea, in the State of Amazonas, also homestate to Apuí, which appears on both lists, in sixth (hotspots) and seventh (deforestation) place.

Data analysis from the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) in the four leading cities in fire and deforestation in 2019 reveals that 72% of heat sources were recorded in medium and large properties (over 440 hectares) and the rest in small rural properties (below 440 hectares).

The same correlation occurs in 2020. INPE's satellite monitoring reveals that Deter System's deforestation alerts have increased by 34% in the last 12 months. A new fire mapping tool developed by NASA indicates that, this year, 54% of fires started with deforestation.