Global Increase in Wildfire-Driven Air Pollution and Its Impact on Human Health

ByThe Short Paper

Global population exposure to landscape fire air pollution from 2000 to 2019

Wildfires, worsened by climate change, are becoming more severe and frequent. The smoke they produce, which can harm human health, hasn’t been well understood globally. Using advanced models and machine learning, scientists estimated that from 2000 to 2019, people around the world were exposed to outdoor air pollution from wildfires. In recent years, this pollution has increased slightly. Regions like Central Africa, Southeast Asia, South America, and Siberia had the highest levels. Low-income countries had much higher pollution levels than high-income countries. Overall, more people are being exposed to this type of pollution, and there are disparities based on income.

Xu, R., Ye, T., Yue, X. et al. Global population exposure to landscape fire air pollution from 2000 to 2019. Nature 621, 521–529 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06398-6

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06398-6

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