An estimated 15,680 rural residents in South-east Asia die each year from heat-related complications worsened by deforestation. Despite the scale of these impacts, more local, population-based studies are needed to better understand how deforestation and rising temperatures affect community health.
Hear from Assoc Prof Kimberly Fornace as she explains why land cover must be factored into heat warning systems, and how rural communities, not just urban ones, face growing risks that existing health data often overlook, as the effects of rising heat differ across populations.
Photo credit: The Straits Times
Media Coverage:
Forest clearing in South-East Asia causes more heat-related deaths than other tropical places, The Star MY, 5 October 2025
Forest clearing in South-east Asia causes more heat-related deaths than in other tropical places, Yahoo News Singapore, 5 October 2025