By Lucas Guaraldo
The impacts of particulate matter present in the smoke released by wildfires and forest fires should be treated as a growing risk to public health, according to experts who participated in the seminar “Politics, Science, and Territories in Integrated Fire Management in Brazil.” The event marks International Clean Air Day and highlights research on fire management and impacts, air quality monitoring, and the effects of pollution on the lives of the Amazonian population. The harmful effects of particulate matter are felt most acutely by children, the elderly, and traditional peoples and communities in the Amazon.
“We drink about 2 liters of water a day, but we breathe in more than 10,000 liters of air. That’s why it’s so important to have data on what we’re breathing. During the burning season, Indigenous communities are exposed to air that is much worse than in the country’s major cities and avenues. This exposure ranges from acute episodes—with days of very poor air quality—to continuous exposure, with months on end of air that is harmful to health,” noted Filipe Arruda, a researcher at IPAM (Amazon Environmental Research Institute).
In 2024, record-breaking wildfires caused large portions of the Amazon to be blanketed by particles harmful to health for up to 138 days, according to an IPAM study.
According to the WHO (World Health Organization), exposure to PM2.5—the primary fine particulate matter associated with wildfires—is linked to 4.2 million deaths per year worldwide, as well as cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer. When inhaled, these particles can pass through the walls of the lungs, enter the bloodstream, and affect all systems of the human body.
“Smoke does not respect borders and can affect areas hundreds of kilometers away. When we see a forest fire, it’s natural for our first concern to be controlling the fire, but, from a health perspective, there is a dimension of public exposure that persists even after the fire is extinguished,” points out Fábio David Reis, coordinator of Surveillance of Environmental Determinants of Health.
Thus, according to Fábio, the role of health surveillance in fire policies is essential for understanding the real impact of wildfires, as well as for enabling the implementation of practices that take into account vulnerable populations and the risks of continuous exposure to smoke.
“We need to understand who is potentially exposed, what particles are in the air, and how long this contamination might last. The challenge is to ensure this information is shared and understood,” he adds.
The event was organized by Instituto Ar, the Brazilian startup umgrauemeio, and the Marajó Sem Fumaça project, in partnership with IPAM, IBAMA/Prev Fogo, and Integra Fogo. The initiative also receives support from the Clean Air Fund.
Health of Indigenous Peoples and Traditional Communities
During periods of intense burning, such as those recorded in the Amazon in 2024, protected areas often experience high levels of air pollution. According to data produced by IPAM and published in the newsletter *Um Grau e Meio*, in 2024, three indigenous territories in Rondônia had air that was up to five times more harmful than that recorded in the most polluted area of downtown São Paulo.
“We have this idea that people in protected areas breathe clean air, but that’s often not true, because they have been increasingly affected by smoke from wildfires that go unnoticed in urban areas,” explains Mariana Senra, technical assistant at PrevFogo (National Center for the Prevention and Control of Wildfires).
For Thaianne Resende, director of the Department of Air Quality at the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, a multisectoral approach to wildfires is essential to properly assess their impacts in areas outside urban centers and to protect the health of indigenous peoples and traditional communities.
“Caring for people means caring for air quality, the climate, and the environment. The discussion about wildfires cannot be limited to firefighting. We need to better understand the effects of smoke exposure to identify which areas are critical and how we can best address this hidden threat,” she comments.
The event highlighted community initiatives for monitoring fires and air quality, such as the Marajó Observatory and the “Marajó Without Smoke” project.
Created in 2023, the Observatory is a citizen-led monitoring tool for climate-related disasters in the region. The model combines its own indicators and mobilizes local leaders to collect information on drought and fire during the Amazonian winter and summer seasons across the 17 municipalities of Marajó, in Pará.
“We seek to raise awareness among public authorities through this data. We have noticed that the municipalities in the region are neither prepared nor taking adequate action to mitigate and adapt to climate change. More and more people have been reporting health problems, such as coughing, low blood pressure, and difficulty breathing,” warns Bianca Barbosa, project manager at the Marajó Observatory.
Meanwhile, the Marajó Sem Fumaça project combines a community brigade with artificial intelligence technology to detect fires early in Ponta de Pedras, a municipality in the Marajó Archipelago.
“We’ve implemented a model capable of reducing response times and, consequently, emissions and health impacts. Alerts are sent in real time to the brigade members’ cell phones, allowing them to act before the fire spreads,” says Patrícia Ferrini, coordinator of the Marajó Sem Fumaça project.
Rede Ar
In addition to the discussions, the seminar marked the launch of Rede Ar, a platform developed by IPAM that aggregates data from 91 air quality sensors installed across 13 states. The project will provide real-time data on the concentration of particulate matter in the atmosphere, emitted primarily by wildfires. This information can support public health and environmental policies, as well as serve as an alert for the public and decision-makers.
“Fire has direct consequences for health, the economy, and quality of life, but it is still difficult to monitor it in real time. These consequences, however, are felt disproportionately by the forest’s indigenous peoples. That is why it is important to expand our monitoring and forecasting capabilities to other areas of the country,” says Ane Alencar, Director of Science at IPAM.
Using sensors based on domestically developed technology—which are less expensive, adapted to the Amazonian environment, and easy to maintain—the project aims to increase the number and diversity of data collection points for temperature, pressure, humidity, and airborne particles. In addition to cities, the platform provides frequent updates on conservation areas, rural areas, and schools.
“It’s a sensor made in the Amazon and for the Amazon. We wanted to measure a particle that is 10 times smaller than the thickness of a strand of hair, but we ran into a lack of basic infrastructure to expand this network. In discussions with indigenous communities, we were able to create a prototype that uses solar power and an indigenous internet network. Now it’s possible to generate reliable, real-time data every two minutes using low-cost sensors and open data,” notes Filipe Arruda, who coordinates the platform.