Research Database
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11
Impact of Wildland Fire Smoke PM2.5 on Birth Weight in California
Year: 2026
The increase in the frequency, duration, and intensity of wildland fires is a significant source of air pollution that can impact perinatal outcomes. This study assessed associations between wildfire fine particulate matter <2.5 μm (PM2.5) and adverse birth weight outcomes among singleton term births in California for 2007–2018. Exposure was assessed using bias-corrected Community Multiscale Air Quality Model, linked to residence at delivery. Logistic and linear regression models estimated associations between average daily wildfire PM2.5 and birth weight outcomes, adjusting for individual…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Health Impact Analysis of Wildfire Smoke-PM2.5 in Canada (2019–2023)
Year: 2026
Wildfires are a source of air pollution, including PM2.5. Exposure to PM2.5 from wildfire smoke is associated with adverse health effects including premature death and respiratory morbidity. Air quality modeling was performed to quantify seasonal wildfire-PM2.5 exposure across Canada for 2019–2023, and the annual acute and chronic health impacts and economic valuation due to wildfire-PM2.5 exposure were estimated. Exposure to wildfire-PM2.5 varied geospatially and temporally. For 2019–2023, the annual premature deaths attributable to wildfire-PM2.5 ranged from 49 (95% CI: 0–73) to 400 (95% CI…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Prenatal Exposure to Wildfire and Autism in Children
Year: 2026
Chronic health effects of wildfire PM2.5 on neurodevelopmental outcomes are largely unknown. Therefore, the effects of wildfire PM2.5 on autism were assessed in a southern California-based pregnancy cohort using Cox proportional hazard models. Exposure was estimated from 2006 to 2014 at maternal addresses across pregnancy and individual trimesters using three metrics: (1) mean wildfire PM2.5 concentration, (2) number of days of smoke exposure, and (3) number of waves of smoke exposure. Analysis was restricted to days over specific PM2.5 concentration thresholds (3 and 5 μg/m3). Nonmovers…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Understanding rural adaptation to smoke from wildfires and forest management: insights for aligning approaches with community contexts
Year: 2026
BackgroundRural communities are increasingly impacted by smoke produced by wildfires and forest management activties. Understanding local influences on smoke adaptation and mitigation is critical to social adaptation as fire risk continues to rise.AimsWe sought to determine the role of local social context in smoke adaptation and gauge interest in adaptation strategies that might reduce exposure.MethodsWe conducted 46 semi-structured interviews with 56 residents and professionals in Parks, Arizona, USA, a rural community adjacent to public…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Evaluating the potential of forest fuel treatments to reduce future wildfire emissions
Year: 2025
BackgroundEffective forest fuel reduction treatments reduce hazardous fuel conditions, wildfire behavior and severity. It has been suggested and partially quantitatively analyzed that these treatments may also reduce future wildfire emissions, but this potential is debated. We apply a previously published, encompassing modeling approach to assess the potential of forest fuel reduction treatments to reduce future wildfire emissions.AimsEvaluate the effectiveness of four fuel treatment types at reducing future wildfire greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across a…
Fuels and Fuel Treatments, Restoration and Hazardous Fuel Reduction, Smoke and Air Quality, Social and Community Impacts of Fire
Publication Type: Journal Article
Long-range PM2.5 pollution and health impacts from the 2023 Canadian wildfires
Year: 2025
Smoke from extreme wildfires in Canada adversely affected air quality in many regions in 20231,2. Here we use satellite observations, machine learning and a chemical transport model to quantify global and regional PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter) exposure and human health impacts related to the 2023 Canadian wildfires. We find that the fires increased annual PM2.5 exposure worldwide by 0.17 μg m–3 (95% confidence interval, 0.…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Emissions from burned structures in wildfires as significant yet unaccounted sources of US air pollution
Year: 2025
Structure fires in the wildland–urban interface (WUI) are becoming more frequent and destructive, yet their emissions of air pollutants remain poorly quantified and are not included in national inventories. Here we present a conterminous-scale inventory of WUI-related structure fire emissions in the United States from 2000 to 2020. A small number of highly destructive events dominate structure fire emissions—the 20 most destructive fires account for 68% of total carbon monoxide emissions. Structure fire emissions are more spatially concentrated than vegetation fire emissions, and in several…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Motivating parents to protect their children from wildfire smoke: the impact of air quality index infographics
Year: 2025
Background. Wildfire smoke events are increasing in frequency and intensity due to climate change. Children are especially vulnerable to health effects even at moderate smoke levels. However, it is unclear how parents respond to Air Quality Indices (AQIs) frequently used by agencies to communicate air pollution health risks. Methods. In an experiment (3 × 2 × 2 factorial design), 2,100 parents were randomly assigned to view one of twelve adapted AQI infographics that varied by visual (table, line, gauge), index type (AQI [0-500], AQHI [1-11+]), and risk…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Wildfire smoke exposure and mortality burden in the USA under climate change
Year: 2025
Wildfire activity has increased in the USA and is projected to accelerate under future climate change1,2,3. However, our understanding of the impacts of climate change on wildfire activity, smoke and health outcomes remains highly uncertain because of the difficulty of modelling the causal chain from climate to wildfire to air pollution and health. Here we quantify the…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Wildfire-specific fine particulate matter and preterm birth: a US ECHO Cohort analysis
Year: 2025
BackgroundExposure to PM2·5 from wildfire smoke during pregnancy has been implicated as a risk factor for preterm birth. We investigated this association in the prospective nationwide US Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort, focusing on prenatal wildfire PM2·5 exposure intensity, duration, and timing.MethodsIn this cohort analysis, we included live singleton births recorded in the ECHO Cohort with available data on gestational age at birth and birthweight and dates of conception between Jan 1, 2006, and March 20, 2020. Census tract-level estimates of daily mean…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Wildland Fire–Related Smoke PM2.5 and Cardiovascular Disease Emergency Department Visits in the Western United States
Year: 2025
BackgroundThe impact of short‐term exposure to fine particulate matter with a diameter ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5) due to wildland fire smoke on the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains unclear. We investigated the association between short‐term exposure to wildfire smoke PM2.5 and emergency department visits for acute CVD in the western United States from 2007 to 2018.MethodsWe analyzed 49 759 958 emergency department visits for primary or secondary diagnoses of atrial fibrillation (AF), acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, and total CVD across 5…
Publication Type: Journal Article