Observations from recent past droughts in SAM indicate how the incidence of respiratory diseases may worsen under a drier and warmer climate. Northwest SAM had an approximately 54% increase in the incidence of respiratory diseases associated with forest fires during the 2005 drought compared to a no-drought 10-year mean  . It is estimated that more than 10 million people are exposed to forest fires in the deforestation arc, a region comprising several Brazilian states in the southern and western parts of the Amazon rainforest, with several impacts on human health including potential exacerbation of the COVID-19 crisis in Amazonia   . Increases in hospital admissions, asthma, DNA damage and lung cell death due to the inhalation of fine particulate matter represent an increase in public health system costs  . The patchy landscape created by forest clearing contributes to a rising risk of zoonotic disease emergence by increasing interactions between wildlife, livestock and humans  . Recent studies also suggest an influence of climate change in zoonotic diseases, such as Orthohantavirus and Chapare viral infections, rodent-borne diseases, in some areas of Bolivia . Extreme fluctuations in Amazon River levels were associated with a significant increase in the incidence of diarrhoea, leptospirosis and dermatitis . According to a comprehensive characterisation of future heatwaves and alternative RCPs scenarios, Brazilian urban areas in the SAM region are projected to face increasing related mortality from 400% to 500% in the period 2031-2080 compared to the period 1971- 2020, under the highest emission scenario and high-variant population scenario  . Table 12.2 shows the increase in days of exposure to heatwaves already observed in the region.
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report