{"id":13801,"date":"2025-01-04T13:05:48","date_gmt":"2025-01-04T13:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=13801"},"modified":"2025-01-04T13:05:48","modified_gmt":"2025-01-04T13:05:48","slug":"wildfire-smoke-is-even-more-dangerous-than-anyone-knew","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=13801","title":{"rendered":"Wildfire Smoke Is Even More Dangerous Than Anyone Knew"},"content":{"rendered":"


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This story originally<\/span> appeared on High Country News<\/a> and is part of the Climate Desk<\/a> collaboration.<\/em><\/p>\n

The more researchers learn about wildfire smoke, the more worrisome the picture gets. Smoke contains microscopic particles known as\u00a0PM 2.5<\/a>\u00a0because the PM (particulate matter) measures 2.5 microns or less\u2014small enough to easily wiggle its way into our lungs and then into our bloodstreams. Researchers have already connected the particulate matter in wildfire smoke to a higher\u00a0risk<\/a>\u00a0of strokes, heart disease, respiratory disease, lung cancer, and other serious conditions.<\/p>\n

And the harmful effects don\u2019t stop there. 2024 was a banner year for research on wildfire smoke and its impact on health, from brain functioning to fertility. While there\u2019s still a lot more to learn, wildfire smoke is thought to be especially insidious\u00a0compared<\/a>\u00a0to other sources of air pollution; its smaller particle size, intermittent spikes, and higher concentration of inflammatory compounds make it more\u00a0dangerous<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s 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 directly the way wildland firefighters do. Research underscores the need for some changes, including better indoor air filtration systems in our homes, hospitals,\u00a0schools<\/a>, and\u00a0nursing homes<\/a>, and\u00a0clean air centers<\/a>\u00a0for people with nowhere else to breathe healthy air. Meanwhile,\u00a0respirators<\/a> for wildland firefighters are currently being tested by the federal government. We also need to reduce smoke pollution at the source by taking measures to reduce wildfire risk and intensity, like prescribed burns.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the biggest advancements in scientists\u2019 understanding of wildfire smoke in 2024:<\/p>\n

New Estimates Predict 125 Million Americans Will Face Unhealthy Air from Wildfires by 2054<\/h2>\n

Wildfire smoke has\u00a0erased<\/a>\u00a0improvements in air quality in recent years, a trend that is expected to continue. Millions more people will be exposed to unhealthy air in the coming years, according to\u00a0models<\/a>\u00a0released by the First Street Foundation in February. It\u2019s estimated that by 2054, over 125 million Americans each year will be exposed to \u201cred\u201d air quality, considered an\u00a0unhealthy<\/a>\u00a0level by the Environmental Protection Agency\u2014a 50 percent increase from 2024. California\u2019s Central Valley will see the worst of it, with Fresno and Tulare County likely facing three months a year of unhealthy air, according to the study.<\/p>\n

Smoke Can Hamper Fertility Treatments<\/h2>\n

The fires that started over Labor Day weekend in 2020 blanketed Oregon with some of the\u00a0worst air quality<\/a>\u00a0in the world at the time. Those 10 or so days of smoky air affected everyone, especially patients undergoing in vitro fertilization treatments, or IVF. Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University studied 69 patients who received ovarian stimulation and IVF treatment in the six weeks following the wildfires. Their study, published in the journal\u00a0Fertility and Sterility<\/em>\u00a0in May,\u00a0found<\/a>\u00a0that patients exposed to wildfire smoke produced fewer blastocysts\u2014clusters of cells that can develop into embryos\u2014than those who weren\u2019t exposed. Most of the patients still got pregnant, but the study\u2019s lead author said she is worried about how smoke may affect fertility treatments. She told the\u00a0Idaho Capital Sun<\/a> that, as an extra precaution, fertility providers may want to delay IVF or embryo transfer for higher-risk patients during times of poor air quality.<\/p>\n

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