Compound dry-hot-fire events connecting Central and Southeastern South America: an unapparent and deadly ripple effect

Abstract South America has experienced severe compound drought-heatwaves (CDHW), exacerbating fires. Recently, the unprecedented Pantanal 2020 fire season (P20F), burning a third of the biome, resulted in well-reported local impacts on the ecosystem, economy, and health. Nevertheless, the long-range...

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Main Authors: Djacinto Monteiro dos Santos, Aline M. de Oliveira, Ediclê S. F. Duarte, Julia A. Rodrigues, Lucas S. Menezes, Ronaldo Albuquerque, Fabio de O. Roque, Leonardo F. Peres, Judith J. Hoelzemann, Renata Libonati
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2024-11-01
Series:npj Natural Hazards
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s44304-024-00031-w
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author Djacinto Monteiro dos Santos
Aline M. de Oliveira
Ediclê S. F. Duarte
Julia A. Rodrigues
Lucas S. Menezes
Ronaldo Albuquerque
Fabio de O. Roque
Leonardo F. Peres
Judith J. Hoelzemann
Renata Libonati
author_facet Djacinto Monteiro dos Santos
Aline M. de Oliveira
Ediclê S. F. Duarte
Julia A. Rodrigues
Lucas S. Menezes
Ronaldo Albuquerque
Fabio de O. Roque
Leonardo F. Peres
Judith J. Hoelzemann
Renata Libonati
author_sort Djacinto Monteiro dos Santos
collection DOAJ
description Abstract South America has experienced severe compound drought-heatwaves (CDHW), exacerbating fires. Recently, the unprecedented Pantanal 2020 fire season (P20F), burning a third of the biome, resulted in well-reported local impacts on the ecosystem, economy, and health. Nevertheless, the long-range ripple effects of this event remain unknown. We investigated the P20F-related cascading hazards, integrating models, observational and satellite-based data. P20F-related smoke elevated PM2.5 levels in the SA’s most populated area, exceeding WHO guidelines by up to 600%. Smoke-induced air pollution episodes coincided with widespread heatwaves, amplifying health risks. The mortality burden attributable to this multi-hazard short-term (14 days) exposure was estimated to be 2150 premature deaths (21% increase above expected levels). Our findings highlight that the impacts of CDHW-fires in SA are beyond the local level, implying growing challenges for risk management and public health and the need for governance based on telecoupled flows, linking different systems over multiple scales.
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spelling doaj-art-0e7ad811eb8a419293f7ba2c1332ea8d2024-12-08T12:18:59ZengNature Portfolionpj Natural Hazards2948-21002024-11-011111310.1038/s44304-024-00031-wCompound dry-hot-fire events connecting Central and Southeastern South America: an unapparent and deadly ripple effectDjacinto Monteiro dos Santos0Aline M. de Oliveira1Ediclê S. F. Duarte2Julia A. Rodrigues3Lucas S. Menezes4Ronaldo Albuquerque5Fabio de O. Roque6Leonardo F. Peres7Judith J. Hoelzemann8Renata Libonati9Departamento de Meteorologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de JaneiroDepartamento de Meteorologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de JaneiroDepartment of Atmospheric and Climate Sciences, Graduate Program in Climate Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do NorteDepartamento de Meteorologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de JaneiroDepartamento de Meteorologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de JaneiroDepartamento de Meteorologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de JaneiroUniversidade Federal de Mato Grosso do SulDepartamento de Meteorologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de JaneiroDepartment of Atmospheric and Climate Sciences, Graduate Program in Climate Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do NorteDepartamento de Meteorologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de JaneiroAbstract South America has experienced severe compound drought-heatwaves (CDHW), exacerbating fires. Recently, the unprecedented Pantanal 2020 fire season (P20F), burning a third of the biome, resulted in well-reported local impacts on the ecosystem, economy, and health. Nevertheless, the long-range ripple effects of this event remain unknown. We investigated the P20F-related cascading hazards, integrating models, observational and satellite-based data. P20F-related smoke elevated PM2.5 levels in the SA’s most populated area, exceeding WHO guidelines by up to 600%. Smoke-induced air pollution episodes coincided with widespread heatwaves, amplifying health risks. The mortality burden attributable to this multi-hazard short-term (14 days) exposure was estimated to be 2150 premature deaths (21% increase above expected levels). Our findings highlight that the impacts of CDHW-fires in SA are beyond the local level, implying growing challenges for risk management and public health and the need for governance based on telecoupled flows, linking different systems over multiple scales.https://doi.org/10.1038/s44304-024-00031-w
spellingShingle Djacinto Monteiro dos Santos
Aline M. de Oliveira
Ediclê S. F. Duarte
Julia A. Rodrigues
Lucas S. Menezes
Ronaldo Albuquerque
Fabio de O. Roque
Leonardo F. Peres
Judith J. Hoelzemann
Renata Libonati
Compound dry-hot-fire events connecting Central and Southeastern South America: an unapparent and deadly ripple effect
npj Natural Hazards
title Compound dry-hot-fire events connecting Central and Southeastern South America: an unapparent and deadly ripple effect
title_full Compound dry-hot-fire events connecting Central and Southeastern South America: an unapparent and deadly ripple effect
title_fullStr Compound dry-hot-fire events connecting Central and Southeastern South America: an unapparent and deadly ripple effect
title_full_unstemmed Compound dry-hot-fire events connecting Central and Southeastern South America: an unapparent and deadly ripple effect
title_short Compound dry-hot-fire events connecting Central and Southeastern South America: an unapparent and deadly ripple effect
title_sort compound dry hot fire events connecting central and southeastern south america an unapparent and deadly ripple effect
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s44304-024-00031-w
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