Forest loss in tropics raises local heat and deaths ^{CEFR B1}

A study in Nature Climate Change combined satellite observations of tree cover loss with temperature and mortality models to measure the human cost of deforestation from 2001 to 2020. The authors linked local changes in climate directly to health outcomes.

The analysis found that 345 million people were exposed to localized warming tied to deforestation and that the change in local climate likely caused about 28,000 heat-related deaths each year. Exposure was highest in Africa (148 million) and Southeast Asia (122 million), while Latin America had 67 million exposed people.

Latin America lost the largest area of forest and showed the biggest deforestation-induced temperature rise, 0.53°C. The study notes that forest loss explains nearly 70 per cent of observed warming in deforested parts of Latin America, and the greatest warming matches the largest loss areas, such as the Arc of Deforestation and the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Researchers and experts call for faster action: halt deforestation, expand protected forests, support local communities with adaptation measures, and include health impacts in climate and land-use plans. They also point to gaps in monitoring, like maps of reforestation.