Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has already reached a new deforestation record this year

 (CNN) -- The portion of Amazon rainforest impacted by deforestation in the first three months of 2022 was the highest ever recorded, according to a new report by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE).

According to the INPE report, published Friday, 941.34 square kilometers (363 square miles) of forest were cleared between January and March this year.

That's the largest amount recorded since the institute began monitoring deforestation rates in 2016.

The area cleared is nearly the size of Dallas, Texas.

Researchers observed a 64% increase from the same time period last year, when 573.29 square kilometers (221 square miles) were cleared.

Destruction of the world's largest rainforest has surged since President Jair Bolsonaro took office in 2019 and weakened environmental protections, arguing that they hinder economic development that could reduce poverty in the Amazon region.

The president's office and the Environment Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A UN climate panel report on Monday warned that governments are not doing enough to rein in greenhouse gas emissions in order to avert the worst effects of global warming.

While fossil fuel use is mostly to blame, deforestation accounts for about 10% of global emissions, according to the report.