New research reveals that climate change contributes to thousands of wildfire-related fatalities and incurs about $11 billion in losses annually.
This significant factor in wildfire occurrences has led to an overall economic cost of $160 billion, representing around 15,000 deaths over a 15-year span, along with the harmful effects of smoke exposure.
“Addressing climate change will significantly help in lessening both deaths and economic impacts associated with wildfire smoke,” explained Nick Nasikas, a senior author from the Harvard Chan School of Public Health.
Nasikas pointed out that this issue is especially pronounced in the western United States, where climate change is responsible for up to 60% of the particulate matter from wildfires.
To arrive at their findings, researchers analyzed the land burned from 2006 to 2020, comparing those areas to what would have burned without climate change being a factor.
They found that climate change increases the regions susceptible to wildfires, thereby exacerbating smoke pollution that poses health risks to the population.
The year 2020 marked the highest number of deaths linked to wildfire smoke due to climate change, accounting for 34% of all smoke-related fatalities that year, which was estimated to cost $58 billion.
The states most affected by this type of air pollution, ranked by annual mortality rates, include Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Washington, California, Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, Louisiana, and Arkansas.
Researchers discovered that wildfire smoke-related deaths driven by climate change ranged from 9.8 to 17.1 per 100,000 individuals in the ten most impacted counties across California, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana.
For context, the cancer mortality rate in the United States stands at approximately 17.5-18.5 per 100,000 people.
If climate change effects were absent, the research suggests that from 2006 to 2020, deaths attributed to wildfire smoke inhalation could have been reduced by about 10%. In some western states, reductions could reach 30-50%, according to the scientists.
Looking ahead, researchers emphasized the importance of merging climate and health policies to address the increased exposure to harmful wildfire smoke.
They also recommended improvements in monitoring and forecasting smoke events while enhancing communication with at-risk populations. The authors concluded that investing in strategies to curb fossil fuel emissions and refine wildfire management will likely mitigate future public health risks and associated financial burdens.
“The indirect effects of climate change on human health due to wildfire smoke intensify if rapid changes in climate trajectories, land management, and population growth are not made,” they noted.
