Wildfires across the world are becoming more severe in strength and harder to control. As a result, a new study suggests that smoke pollution from these intense wildfires could threaten to undo years of improvements on air quality in the United States and have negative health consequences. A new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health calculated the toll of wildfires on air quality and human health across the United States between 2000 and 2020. In the study, researchers looked at black carbon concentrations and premature death estimates from satellite data and 500 land-based stations that monitor air quality across the country. While data typically lacks in rural areas, the researchers employed a “deep learning” technique to produce accurate predictions in those areas and fill in the gaps. Through this process, they were able to rely on a formula that calculated premature deaths by using metrics like average lifespan, black carbon exposure and population density.
In the Western part of the U.S., where wildfires have become more intense, the scientists concluded that air quality has worsened due to an increase in severe wildfires over the last two decades. As a result, they estimate that there’s been an increase in 670 premature deaths per year between 2000 and 2020. Black carbon concentrations, which have been linked to respiratory and heart disease, has increased by 55 percent each year due to wildfires.
“Our air is supposed to be cleaner and cleaner due mostly to EPA regulations on emissions, but the fires have limited or erased these air-quality gains,” said lead author Jun Wang in a media statement. “In other words, all the efforts for the past 20 years by the EPA to make our air cleaner basically have been lost in fire-prone areas and downwind regions.”
And it’s not just in the West. The researchers said the air quality in the Midwest has also been affected, but fortunately, the health impacts are minimal. The eastern region of the U.S. had no major declines in air quality, according to the study.
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