Smoke from Record-Breaking 2023 Canadian Wildfires Linked to 70,000 Deaths Globally

In the summer of 2023, Canada experienced unprecedented wildfires that ravaged the country, burning around 18 million hectares of land. The five-month-long blazes released massive plumes of acrid smoke that not only impacted North America but also drifted as far as Europe, causing spikes in harmful air pollutants and a measurable decline in air quality thousands of miles away.

According to a new study published in the journal Nature, the smoke from these record-breaking Canadian fires exposed an estimated 354 million people in North America and Europe to levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) above the World Health Organization's safe limit. This exposure contributed to nearly 70,000 premature deaths, with the majority resulting from long-term exposure to the polluted air over several months and a smaller number from acute exposure to the wildfire smoke.

The researchers behind the study say these findings "underscore that such extreme wildfires are no longer just a regional environmental issue and they have become a global public health concern." As Earth's climate continues to warm, experts warn that extreme wildfires are likely to become larger, more frequent, and more intense, posing a growing threat to populations worldwide.