For example, Stowell’s research has found more respiratory disease impacts in children when compared with adults. These effects are also thought to have a higher impact on vulnerable populations. “Wildfire-specific fine particulate matter has been linked to clinical and emergency department visits for respiratory issues, including asthma, decreased lung function, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and others.” “Many studies have shown the negative impacts of exposure to fine particulate matter from smoke,” says Jennifer Stowell, a postdoctoral fellow at BU’s School of Public Health who studies environmental health effects from wildfires. Air quality alerts often warn residents to stay indoors when PM2.5 levels are above 100- the Air Quality Index, established by the EPA, runs from 0 to 500 the higher the number, the higher the level of pollutants like ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. These particles are potent in wildfire smoke, and small enough to get past the body’s natural defenses, such as the tiny hairs in your nose, and settle in the lungs. Health experts and researchers worry the most about particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, known as PM2.5, and often called particulate matter or fine particulate matter. “You can expect a mix of really nasty constituents like soot, carbon monoxide, and toxic hydrocarbons,” Geddes says. When it comes to wildfire smoke, the exact composition depends on the properties of the vegetation, the temperature of the fire, and other environmental factors. Many communities in the western United States have been experiencing this for years, but “people who are not used to worrying about the air they breathe will need to start preparing themselves and educating themselves about how to protect their health,” he says. “When I see this level of smoke from wildfires, my first concern is how much worse and more common these events may become with climate change,” says Jeff Geddes, a Boston University College of Arts & Sciences assistant professor of Earth and environment who studies air quality. As large fire events become more common, what can people do to protect themselves? Climate change creates hotter, drier conditions, leading to longer and more active fire seasons-and, unfortunately, there’s no sign they’re going to slow down anytime soon. Some of these fires were ignited from lightning, and some by humans, but they are stronger due to dry conditions caused by warming temperatures. National Weather Service Philadelphia/Mount Holly How did the Wildfires Start? QwouQYq4s7- NWS Mount Holly June 8, 2023Īs the smoke has moved south, it’s forced many residents indoors or to wear masks when they’re outdoors. However late this evening, we anticipate the haze and smoke to become more dense. The highest concentrations of smoke should be dissipating through the morning hours and into the afternoon across the region. Say it isn’t smoke… but yet here we still are. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection issued a statewide air quality alert that expired at midnight on June 7, but the worst air quality is expected to hit Toronto on Thursday, June 8, and smoke will continue to blow over parts of the US. On Wednesday, June 7, the air quality index in and around New York City was the worst since the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began recording measurements in 1999. As the smoke has moved south to cities including Boston, New York, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., it has impacted travel and caused some school districts to suspend outdoor activities. With air quality declared a “very high risk for health” in cities like Toronto and Ottawa, tens of thousands of people have been evacuated across Canada. But so far this year, over 600 square miles have been scorched. According to NASA’s Earth Observatory, in an average year, less than a square mile of forest would be burned by now. Wildfires are typical in these regions, but this year is particularly intense. For millions of people across the northeastern United States and Canada this week, the sun turned red, obscured in a haze of smoke from wildfires burning in Quebec and Ontario.
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