Os Limites da Habitabilidade

The document examines how wildfires—both climate-driven and intentional—degrade air quality and cause acute and chronic health issues. It highlights specific crises in the Amazon, Australia, and Canada, noting increased hospitalizations and respiratory distress, and calls for forest management moratoria and alignment with the Paris Agreement to protect public health.

• Wildfires contribute to climate change by releasing carbon stocks from forests, while climate change itself fuels extreme fires in temperate forests, increasing the overall risk of such events.
• Wildfire smoke contains pollutants such as particulate matter, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds, which cause short-term health effects including coughing, shortness of breath, and asthma triggers, particularly in children, the elderly, and those with chronic conditions.
• Exposure to air pollutants from wildfires is linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as low birth weight, and increased emergency medical requests for respiratory, cardiovascular, and diabetes-related issues.
• In the 2019/2020 Australian wildfires, air quality in state capitals was ten times more dangerous than normal; in Canberra, PM2.5 levels reached 2,496 μg/m3 between January 5 and 11, contributing to a 73% increase in inhaler prescriptions for shortness of breath.
• In the Amazon basin, approximately 10 million of the 27 million residents live in areas of poor air quality; the August 2019 fires led to increased respiratory problems in children and are associated with decreased lung function and higher hospitalization rates.
• The 2018 wildfire season in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, resulted in 1.3 million hectares burned and forced the Interior Health Authority to evacuate 880 patients and relocate over 700 health professionals at a cost of 2.2 million USD.

APA

MacGuire, F., & Sergeeva, M. (2021). Os Limites da Habitabilidade. Global Climate and Health Alliance. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/limits_livability_Executive-Summary-BrPt.pdf

Chicago

MacGuire, Frances, and Milena Sergeeva. Os Limites da Habitabilidade. Global Climate and Health Alliance, 2021. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/limits_livability_Executive-Summary-BrPt.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=MacGuire |first1=Frances |last2=Sergeeva |first2=Milena |title=Os Limites da Habitabilidade |publisher=Global Climate and Health Alliance |date=2021 |url=https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/limits_livability_Executive-Summary-BrPt.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{macguire2021limites, author = {MacGuire, Frances and Sergeeva, Milena}, title = {{Os Limites da Habitabilidade}}, institution = {Global Climate and Health Alliance}, year = {2021}, url = {https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/limits_livability_Executive-Summary-BrPt.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }