This story is original appears above Highland news and be a part of Climate table cooperation.
The more researchers learn about wildfire smoke, the more worrying the picture becomes. Smoke contains microscopic particles called pm 2.5 because PM (particulate matter) is 2.5 microns or less in size—small enough to easily move into our lungs and then into our blood. Researchers have linked particulate matter in wildfire smoke to higher concentrations risk stroke, heart disease, respiratory disease, lung cancer, and other serious conditions.
And the harmful effects don't stop there. 2024 is a banner year for research into wildfire smoke and its impact on health, from brain function to fertility. Although there is still much to learn, wildfire smoke is believed to be particularly dangerous compare to other sources of air pollution; Smaller particle size, intermittent spikes, and higher concentrations of inflammatory compounds make it easier. danger.
This year's new findings are disturbing. But the more we learn about smoke, the better we can protect ourselves from it, whether we live hundreds of miles away from a fire or confront it head-on as firefighters do. Wilderness fires still work. The study highlights the need for a number of changes, including better indoor air filtration systems in homes, hospitals, schoolAnd nursing homeAnd clean air center for people who have nowhere else to get fresh air. Meanwhile, gas mask for wildland firefighters is currently being tested by the federal government. We also need to reduce smoke pollution at the source by implementing measures to reduce the risk and intensity of wildfires, such as prescribed burns.
Here are some of the biggest advances in scientists' understanding of wildfire smoke in 2024:
New estimates predict 125 million Americans will be exposed to unhealthy air from wildfires by 2054
Wildfire smoke exists deleted air quality has improved in recent years, a trend that is expected to continue. Millions more people will be exposed to unhealthy air in the coming years model was released by the First Street Foundation in February. It is estimated that by 2054, more than 125 million Americans each year will be exposed to “red” air quality. unhealthy as reported by the Environmental Protection Agency—a 50% increase over 2024. California's Central Valley will see the worst, with Fresno and Tulare Counties likely to face the unhealthy three months a year, according to research.
Secondhand smoke can interfere with fertility treatment
Fires that started over Labor Day weekend 2020 blanketed Oregon in several Worst air quality in the world at that time. Those 10 or so days of smoky air affected everyone, especially patients undergoing in vitro fertilization or IVF treatment. Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University studied 69 patients who received ovarian stimulation and IVF treatment in the six weeks after the wildfires. Their research, published in the journal Fertility and infertility in May, establish that patients exposed to wildfire smoke produced fewer blastocysts—clusters of cells that can develop into embryos—than those who were not exposed. Most patients remained pregnant, but the study's lead author said she was worried about how cigarette smoke might affect fertility treatment. She told Idaho Capital Sun that, as an additional precaution, fertility providers may want to delay IVF or embryo transfer for higher-risk patients during times of poor air quality.
Wildfire smoke is soon killing people
According to a study by the University of California, Los Angeles, thousands more people have died from wildfire smoke than previously realized. New study published in the journal Science Advances in June found that fine particles in smoke caused between 52,500 and 55,700 premature deaths from 2008 to 2018 in California. According to its authors, this is the first long-term study to evaluate the increasing number of deaths from years of exposure to wildfire smoke in a state that, like other Western states, is seeing Wildfires are more frequent and more severe.
Exposure to secondhand smoke is harmful to adolescents' mental health
Researchers in University of Colorado Boulder found that wildfire smoke increased the risk of mental health challenges in adolescents. the learnAccording to the university, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives in September, analyzed data from 10,000 infants participating in the largest longitudinal study of brain development and child health. I'm in the United States. Every day children were exposed to “unsafe” air quality results in 2016 increased their likelihood of experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety—even up to a year later.
Years of firefighting can lead to neurodegenerative diseases
Of course, lab rats are not people. But in a controlled environment, they can provide useful insight into the consequences for human health. Researchers exposed mice to amounts of smoke equivalent to what a wildland firefighter would breathe over the course of a 15- to 30-year career. establish that they were more likely to develop brain disease than unexposed mice. The animals' genetic profiles fit a model showing long-term damage that resembles the effects of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's and other neurodegenerative diseases. While researchers cannot prove that cigarette smoke directly causes an increased risk of the disease, lead author Adam Schuller said Boise State Public Radio that wildland firefighters need to be aware of the impact that a long-term firefighting profession can have on the human brain.
Wildfire smoke is linked to dementia
Inhaling particulate matter in air pollution is linked to an increased risk of dementia. Now, researchers say, wildfire smoke may pose an even greater risk than other sources of pollution. Analysis of more than 1.2 million people in Southern California establish that long-term exposure to wildfire smoke—in this study, three years—was associated with a higher risk of dementia diagnosis. According to research published in the journal JAMA Neurology, the rate of dementia diagnoses increased by 18% for every microgram per cubic meter increased by wildfire pollution over three years, a relatively small amount. Because compareThe average PM 2.5 exposure for a census tract near the 2018 Camp Fire in California was 1.2 micrograms per cubic meter from 2006 to 2020, spiking to an exposure of 310 micrograms per cubic meter. cubic meter in actual fire.