"The analysis, published this week in Nature, found that wildfire smoke already contributes to some 40,000 deaths each year in the U.S. But as climate change makes fire-prone parts of North America hotter and drier, fire activity and by extension wildfire smoke could increase significantly, leading to many more Americans being exposed to dangerous, and potentially fatal, levels of smoke."
"She says the new results suggest Americans are going to need to think of ways to live with a smokier future. "Adaptation becomes an important topic," she says. "We need to explore what types of adaptation strategies are most useful," like helping people filter their air at home or developing a network of clean air centers that become hubs during periods of smoke."
Wildfire smoke already contributes to about 40,000 deaths annually in the United States. Smoke exposure has spread beyond the West, affecting people in the East, Midwest, and South. Climate warming will make fire-prone regions hotter and drier, increasing fire activity and smoke emissions and potentially doubling or tripling average smoke concentrations by mid-century. The 2020 Western wildfire season produced roughly 10 million burned acres and one of the smokiest recent years. Limiting future warming can reduce some impacts, but higher smoke burdens are likely. Adaptation measures include home air filtration and networks of clean-air centers to protect populations during smoke events.
Read at www.npr.org
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]