Worsening Situation in Amazon Rainforest May Expose Millions of People to Lethal Heat Stress

In a groundbreaking study published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment by Brazilian researchers, large-scale deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, combined with climate change, will increase the number of people in northern Brazil exposed to extreme heat, with potentially fatal consequences and devastating economic consequences.

The researchers stress the need to take concerted action to minimize negative consequences for vulnerable groups. "The local results of land-use changes are inextricably tied to forest sustainability policies and plans, yet change is possible. The health sector, for example, may be a valuable source of policy ideas to reduce risk and vulnerability, "Beatriz Oliveira, a researcher at the Fundaço Oswaldo Cruz, disagrees (Fiocruz).

The projections made by the researchers did not take into account population growth, changes in demographic structure, or life expectancy. As a result, the study's findings reflect isolated impacts of climate change and savannization and may be taken to represent the effects found if the existing population was subjected to predicted heat stress distributions.

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