(Left) Molten sunset over the highway near the Adams Lake fire, BC, Canada. (Middle) Soot veils a car, like a cloak of volcanic ash. (Right) Smoke in an unearthly sky obscures the Rocky Mountains. Image Source: Personal photos by Anonymous. 2023. Used with permission.
In 2023, Canada experienced the worst wildfire season on record, due to exceptionally hot, arid conditions. Most of the wildfires were caused by lightning strikes. Climate change amplified the effect of wildfires. Rising greenhouse gas emissions have led to more extreme warming patterns over time.
How Far Does Smoke Travel?
Myth: Small particles in the air drop to the ground near their source. They’re pretty harmless because they don’t go far.
Fact: Plumes of fine particles and gases from wildfire smoke drift in the air for thousands of kilometres.
(Left) Space satellites captured images of wildfire smoke billowing through the sky. Clouds of smoke from Canadian forest fires drifted on air currents across the Atlantic Ocean and blanketed the skies over parts of Europe this summer. Image Source: EO Explorer Earth Observatory NASA. 2023. Accessed via https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151507/canadian-smoke-reaches-europe on August 6, 2023. (Right) This computerized image shows a plume of black carbon dust (soot), spreading out over the Atlantic Ocean. Darker colours show higher toxic concentrations of soot (measured in mg/m2). Image Source: NASA’s GEOS forward processing model, which combines data from satellites, aircraft, and observatories on the ground. 2023. Accessed via https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/151000/151507/atlanticsmoketransport_geos5_2023177_lrg.jpg
What’s in Wildfire Smoke, and Why Is It So Bad for Me?
Wildfire smoke is a mixture of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and gases such as ozone and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The gases are irritating, especially at high concentrations. However, the most dangerous element is PM2.5. These particles of soot (black carbon dust) are released into the atmosphere from burning trees and other materials. There is no known safe amount, and children are more vulnerable.
Countries need to work together to find real solutions to adapt to climate change. If we act now, we still have time to keep this problem from getting worse.
Here’s the good news: If we clean the air, we won’t breathe in smoke.
There are practical steps we can take now to protect ourselves and our loved ones. We can filter the air we breathe, just like we filter the water we drink. We already know how important clean water is for our health.
A HEPA air purifier filters the air you breathe so your lungs don’t have to. This pre-filter captures large particles, and the High Efficiency Particulate Air filter (HEPA) inside the air purifier traps tiny particles like PM2.5. This is how much dirt the pre-filter (right side) scrubbed from the polluted air in my home in July. The pre-filter on the left side is new. Image Source: Author. August 6, 2023.
We choose what we drink, but we have to breathe the air in our environment. So it makes sense to filter out pollutants. Each day, we only drink about two litres of water, but our lungs breathe thousands of litres of air. We can filter our indoor air to make sure we’re breathing the clean air we need for good health. We can monitor the air quality health index (AQHI) and reduce our exposure. If we have to be outdoors, wearing a true N95 respirator will filter out the soot.
(Left) Quiet and beautiful CR box made with PC fans and colourful LED lights from a CR box kit. Image Source: crboxkits. Accessed via https://www.instagram.com/crboxkits/ on August 7, 2023. Used with permission. (Right) 10X10 CR box for smaller spaces. Image Source: Mary Jo Nabuurs, 2023. Used with permission.
