Scientists have linked deforestation in Indonesia to increased deaths due to heat 
Deforestation and global warming in Indonesia's Berau County have raised temperatures by nearly a full degree Celsius in 16 years, which in turn has increased mortality in the region by eight percent. This is the conclusion reached by experts of the environmental organization Nature Conservancy, who published an article in the journal Lancet Planetary Health. The scientific work is briefly described in a press release on Phys.org.
Researchers analyzed satellite images to determine how much forest cover was lost in Berau, East Kalimantan province, between 2002 and 2018. They then calculated the associated change in average daily temperatures and found that the region had warmed by almost a full degree Celsius over 16 years, while temperatures in the rest of the country remained relatively stable.
Deforestation in an area of 4,375 square kilometers in the county is associated with an additional 0.95 degrees Celsius increase in daily maximum temperatures between 2002 and 2018, not counting the increase in temperature caused by global warming. As a result, the safe working time outdoors has been reduced by 20 minutes per day. Climate models predict that under a global warming scenario of three degrees above pre-industrial levels (or two degrees above 2018 levels), mortality could increase by about 260 per year.
Indonesia is the third largest the world's rainforest area, and while deforestation has slowed markedly since 2015, factors such as agriculture, logging and mining are contributing to further deforestation. According to Global Forest Watch, the country had 93.8 million hectares of virgin forest in 2001, which is comparable to the area of Egypt. By 2020, this area has decreased by about 10 percent.