Wildfire smoke could kill hundreds more Arizonans each year
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Smoke from nearby wildfires settles into the Grand Canyon on July 15. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Without protective measures, wildfire smoke could cause tens of thousands more deaths annually across the U.S. by midcentury — and hundreds more in Arizona, a new study warns.
Why it matters: The grim findings are among the strongest evidence yet of the harmful effects of climate change, the study's authors say.
- Under the worst climate scenarios, wildfire smoke could cause more than 70,000 excess deaths per year by 2050, per the study.
- "The impacts are much larger than anything else that has been measured," Marshall Burke, an environmental economist at Stanford University who contributed to the study, told the New York Times.
What they did: The research team used 20 years' worth of death records, satellite and ground data and climate models to study the relationship between exposure to wildfire smoke and mortality.
Zoom in: Arizona alone could see up to 904 excess deaths each year by midcentury, the research reveals.
Flashback: Smoke from this summer's most devastating Arizona wildfire, the Dragon Bravo Fire, spread around the state and into Utah.
- It burned nearly 150,000 acres along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and destroyed a historic lodge, cabins and other structures.
What they're saying: "Our research suggests that the health impacts of climate-driven wildfire smoke could be among the most important and costly consequences of a warming climate in the U.S.," the study's authors wrote.
Yes, but: There are several ways to mitigate the health impacts of wildfire smoke.
- Better forest management could help reduce the severity of wildfires.
- Air filters and protective masks can help shield people from wildfire smoke.
- Cutting climate pollution can lower the risk of large, deadly fires.
What we're watching: The state forester warned last month that fire suppression costs have escalated because wildfires are now a year-long occurrence rather than seasonal, The Arizona Capitol Times reported.
- The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management is asking the Legislature and Gov. Kate Hobbs to create a permanent funding source for fire suppression through next year's budget.
The bottom line: "These are projections. They are not what's going to happen, necessarily," Burke told the New York Times.
- "But what happens is a choice, and so these don't have to be an inevitability."