Fire-induced air pollution is claiming more lives each year as climate change worsens wildfire conditions globally, doubling mortality rates over the past 60 years and intensifying health risks. Study: Attributing human mortality from fire PM 2.5 to climate change .
Image Credit: josh.tagi / Shutterstock In a recent study published in the journal Nature Climate Change , researchers estimated global mortality attributable to pollutant emissions from fires caused by climate change. Their findings indicate that annual fire-related deaths more than doubled from the 1960s to the 2010s and that climate change has been responsible for nearly 13% of fire-related deaths in recent years.
Background Fire emissions' contribution to global PM2.5 levels increased from an average of 1.4 μg/m3 in the 1960s to 3.
1 μg/m3 in the 2010s, with the largest increases observed in tropical and temperate regions. Forest fires are significant health risks, with events like the 2023 Canadian fires and Australian mega-fires causing significant health costs and emergency visits. Fire smoke contains fine particulate matter with diameters less than 2.
5 micrometers (PM2.5), a significant environmental hazard contributing to millions of global deaths annually. Fire-related PM2.
5 is responsible for 339,000 to 677,745 deaths annually, including 130,000 infant deaths. Human actions, such as fire suppression activities and landscape fragmentation, have led to lower fire activity across regions like tropical sava.
