Evidence of the consequences of the prolonged fire season on air quality and public health from 2024 São Paulo (Brazil) data

Abstract

Over the last decade, the number of forest fires in Brazil has been increasing continuously. In 2024, the number of forest fires in São Paulo state reached unprecedented levels. This phenomenon, combined with unfavorable conditions for pollutant concentrations, given temperature and precipitation anomalies, resulted in high concentrations of pollutants for several weeks, mainly affecting the number of hospitalizations of the most vulnerable age groups, children (due to respiratory diseases) and older adults (due to cerebrovascular diseases) in the city of São Paulo. The Incidence Rate Ratio calculations demonstrate how different age groups are differently affected by changes in pollutant concentrations and meteorological variables, so that air temperature, relative humidity, concentration of Particulate Matter, SO2, NO2, and O3 are the main variables that affect hospitalizations by respiratory, cerebrovascular or cardiovascular diseases.