How Does Smoke Downwind Affect Health, Wealth, Mortality?

Wildfires discharge fine particulate matter – called PM2.5, which contains particles which can enter the lungs and bloodstream and cause respiratory diseases.

In the United States, smoke particulates from wildfires are linked to 4,000 and 9,000 premature deaths and cost between $36 to $82 billion per year ().

The study, “Quantifying the Premature Mortality and Economic Loss From Wildfire-Induced PM2.5 in the Contiguous U.S.,” published in Science of the Total Environment.

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‘California, Florida, Texas, Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina had increased number of premature deaths associated with particulate matter spread by the smoke. #environmenthealth #wildfire’

“We think of automobile tailpipes and factory emissions polluting our air,” said Oliver Gao, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Cornell University and a senior author on the study. “We don’t necessarily think about air pollution from natural sources like wildfires.

“Climate change is leading to weather extremes like more storms and hurricanes, but it can also lead to more wildfires,” Gao said. “The Quebec wildfires in early June affected human health hundreds of miles away in the distant cities New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington.”

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The researchers used satellite Wildfire emission and air quality (PM2.5) data gathered from 2012 to 2014 for their current updated model and assessed how smoke from wildfires could impact human health and economies.

Metropolitan regions located near fire sources, such as Los Angeles, Houston and Atlanta, will likely see a large health burden and corresponding economic loss, according to the study.

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In the model, the researchers estimated New York City metropolitan area – recently affected the Quebec wildfire in early June – would incur 86 premature deaths resulting from similar events and see $780 million in associated economic costs.

Law and regulations – such as planned events to thin forests – could reduce and mitigate the harmful effects of wildfires, Gao said.

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“Wildfire affects our health,” he said. “In this era of climate change, if we remove flammable vegetation and do things like create green fire breaks and reduce the fuel for the fires, we can substantially decrease the harm of smoke downwind in populated areas.”

Reference:

Quantifying the premature mortality and economic loss from wildfire-induced PM2.5 in the contiguous U.S. - (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969723012305?via%3Dihub)

Source-Eurekalert

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