The 2024 South America ablaze: health impacts and policy imperatives for protecting population health in an era of wildfires

Abstract

The 2024 wildfires in South America, particularly in the Amazon and Pantanal, were not only a disaster for ecosystems, but also for public health and people's health and wellbeing. These record-breaking fires were likely driven by overlapping triggers: climate change-related heat and droughts and human-driven land-use change. We documented that rapidly evolving wildfires together with limited preparedness and slow responses from emergency and health agencies resulted in severe health impacts, including several fatalities and thousands people displaced, injured, and/or with cardiorespiratory symptoms. These, however, partially represent the situation as mental health outcomes were largely unrecorded and other impacts are yet to be seen. In a climate increasingly prone to severe wildfires, comprehensive action is key. Integrated disaster risk reduction strategies, strengthened health systems, and improved risk communication are essential to protect human health from this escalating threat.

Keywords: Amazon; Climate change; Health impacts; Policy; Wildfires.

Fig. 1

View of smoke billowing from the blazes on 3 September 2024. Credit: NASA's EPIC (Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera) imager on the DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory) satellite.

Fig. 2

Map showing MODIS hotspots from 1 January 2024 to 31 October 2024.

Fig. 3

Warmer than average surface air temperature in South America compared to the 1991–2020 reference period (left). Less humid soil conditions for South America compared to the 1991–2020 reference period (right).

Fig. 4

Purple Air, low-cost monitors daily average of PM_2.5 (μg/m³) in Bagua Grande, Iquitos, and Tarapoto in the northern Peruvian Amazon, from 20 April to 10 November 2024. The dashed-black horizontal line indicates the WHO recommended values for daily PM_2.5 (10 μg/m³).