Wildfire smoke evolves as it drifts from wilderness to city
Scientists are studying how wildfire smoke chemically evolves as it travels from wilderness areas into urban environments. Researchers emphasize that as climate change increases the frequency of wildfires, understanding the health risks of these aged smoke plumes is becoming increasingly critical.
Why it matters
As wildfire smoke becomes a more frequent urban health hazard, this research is vital for public health policy and environmental safety.
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For a few days this summer, millions of people living far from the edge of the wilderness were reminded of the combustive power of wildfires when smoke from uncontrolled infernos burning through the forests of Ontario billowed across the border into the US. Unfortunately, it’s likely that such intermittent hazy days are here to stay.
“We’re in a fire deficit,” explains Tyler McIntosh , a PhD student who studies wildfires with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. “We’ve had a lot less fire on the landscape than we theoretically should have over recent history.”
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