Health risks of Wildfire Smoke

Wildfires and the smoke they produce are the fastest growing environmental threat in the US and many other parts of the world. I review recent advances in the measurement of smoke and its constituents, and recent advances in the quantification of both short- and long-term health impacts from smoke exposure and from exposure to the fires themselves. We estimate that short-run smoke exposure causes tens of thousands of deaths annually, a number that will likely grow due to climate change absent substantial intervention. We study the impacts of a leading proposed intervention ??" prescribed burning ??" and estimate meaningful net reductions in smoke exposure if the state were to meet its stated prescribed burning targets.

Speaker: Marshall Burke, Stanford University