August 1, 2021

10:08

Marcela Leiros – from Cenarium

MANAUS – The burning of forests directly impacts people’s health, even those who live miles away from the hotspots. The smoke generated contains pollutants that affect those who have chronic respiratory problems and also harm the health of people these diseases. The forecast for this year is that the number of fires will be greater than in 2020 – when the highest number was registered in Brazil since 2010, with 222,797 hotspots – since deforestation has also registered records.

Fire is used mainly in the process of deforestation in territories that will serve for pastures or monoculture. In the last 11 months alone, the Amazon reached the worst historical record of the decade, with 8,381 km² deforested according to the report of the Deforestation Alert System (SAD) of the Institute of Man and Environment of the Amazon (Imazon), released last July 19.

Besides the wildfires, the region also suffers from the dry weather and scant rainfall of the Amazon summer, which contributes to respiratory problems. For this reason, the specialist in Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine, Gilson Martins, points out about the case.

“These burnings throw organic and inorganic particulates into the air, and cause the amount of pollution that we inhale to become greater. For people who already have lung disease, such as asthma, chronic bronchitis due to previous smoking, or bronchiolitis in the case of children, the load of pollutants inhaled causes these diseases to be exacerbated,” he explained.

Sorrows

These consequences of the burning of biomes such as Amazon are felt by people like veterinary student Ana Clara Santiago, who suffers from sinusitis and rhinitis – two inflammations of the mucous membranes of the face. The symptoms are intensified when the atmospheric pollution increases, as she says.

“When there is smoke, the nose gets blocked, the whole face hardens because it becomes inflamed. My teeth hurt, my head hurts, my eyes water all day long. When the weather is very dry I need a humidifier to sleep. If I don’t use it, my throat gets dry and I get uncomfortable in some positions”, said the student, nine months pregnant.

Pulmonologist David Luniere also pontuated that the symptoms caused by air pollution, intensified by the burnings, can worsen chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and even lead to death.

“Some papers describe signs and symptoms of cough, shortness of breath, eye and throat irritation, nasal obstruction, nausea, headache as a direct/acute effect of exposure to burn pollution. This can also lead to exacerbation or crisis of rhinitis, asthma, COPD, and bronchitis, as well as having cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, neurological, ophthalmological, and dermatological consequences, and severe intoxication and death.”

How to avoid

The specialists also pointed out that the number of searches and medical attention increases in the Amazon summer period, which goes from the beginning of July to the end of October. To avoid the intensification of symptoms, it is recommended to continue the treatment, in the cases of chronic respiratory problems, to avoid exposure to polluting environments, and even to avoid burning garbage.

“Patients who already have a pre-existing illness cannot stop their inhalation therapy. Another situation is to avoid going out during rush hours, when there is a lot of traffic, because there is a lot of smoke. I also recommend wearing masks, which helps us to retain mechanically, like a mechanical barrier, to prevent the inhalation of these pollutants. We also have to create awareness”, pointed out pulmonologist Gilson Martins.

Gilson also points out that physical activity helps, even though there are no areas reserved for exclusive physical activity. “Most parks and squares are next to major roads, where there is a very large flow of cars, and this means that people who want to practice physical activity have to avoid rush hours,” he said.

Prediction of wildfires

A survey conducted by the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (Ipam), in partnership with the Woodwell Climate Research Center, showed that the Legal Amazon has an area of almost five thousand square kilometers of vegetation that is fallen and dry, running the risk of being fuel for burning, in addition to forest fires.

The researchers’ analysis reveals that Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Pará and Rondônia concentrate more than a third of the total, or 35.5 percent, of the deforested and not yet burned areas as of 2019 in the world’s largest tropical forest, according to the Amazon Fire Panorama in 2021, as the survey is called.

The Amazon summer, beginning in July until the end of October, is another factor that worries authorities in the face of the risks of fires in the biome. Based on the deforestation figures, this period should be of great proportions for fires.

“It is during the Amazon summer dry season that fires increase significantly and in recent years we have experienced climate extremes with greater frequency because of global climate change,” environmentalist Carlos Durigan told CENARIUM on June 23, 2021.