"Wildfires likely to have become more frequent due to climate change made considerable contributions to air pollution last year, the United Nations weather agency said in a report on Friday. Wildfires in the Amazon, Canada and Siberia have shown how air quality can be impacted on a vast scale, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in the fifth edition of its annual Air Quality and Climate Bulletin."
"The report looked into the interplay between air quality and climate, highlighting the role of tiny particles called aerosols in wildfires, winter fog, shipping emissions and urban pollution. "Wildfires are a big contributor to particle pollution and the problem is expected to increase as the climate warms, posing growing risks for infrastructure and ecosystems and human health," the WMO said in a statement. Particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres (PM 2.5) are particularly harmful since they are small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream."
Wildfires have become more frequent due to climate change and contributed substantially to global air pollution in 2024. Fires in the Amazon, Canada, Siberia and central Africa raised PM2.5 concentrations above average, with the largest surge in the Amazon basin driven by record and drought-fueled fires. Aerosols from wildfires combine with other sources such as winter fog, shipping emissions, and urban pollution to create complex mixtures of particles. PM2.5 particles penetrate deep into lungs and enter the bloodstream, posing growing risks to human health, infrastructure, and ecosystems. Smoke plumes traveled across continents, degrading air quality in distant populated areas.
Read at www.dw.com
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