Experts say the wildfire damage could extend far beyond the ongoing blazes as toxic smoke from Canada's wildfires crosses the border into homes and poses health concerns. It is said that there is a sex.
Officials said as of Monday, at least 40 of the more than 140 active wildfires in Canada had been certified as “out of control,” including a fire that broke out in British Columbia on Friday. and later expanded to 4,200 acres, he said.
Most of the current wildfires (at least 90) are in British Columbia and Alberta.
But as wildfire smoke continues to rage across parts of the country, Minnesota officials on Sunday issued the state's first air quality warning for 2024.
Health effects of wildfire smoke
As the threat of an active wildfire season looms, there are steps individuals can take to reduce the impact of wildfire smoke in their homes, says Brian G. Henning, director of Gonzaga University's Institute for Climate, Water, and Environment. says the professor. State of Washington.
“We know that a lot of local residents don't have central air, so when you have these very intense wildfire smokes, they have no air quality,” Henning told ABC News. “They may not have the ability to cleanse themselves for a long time – long-term health effects.”
Wildfire smoke poses incredible health risks to everyone, but especially to those with pre-existing health conditions. According to the EPA, wildfire smoke is associated with stroke, heart disease, respiratory disease, lung cancer and premature death.
Henning added: “Of course, people with respiratory disease or heart disease are affected immediately, but over time we are all negatively affected.”
Keeping in mind the effects of wildfire smoke, Henning explained why clean air should not be considered a luxury in the United States, and that there are cheaper alternatives to branded air purifiers.
“We need to bring more resources into communities to help local residents, especially low-income residents, increase their air filtration capacity,” Henning said.
DIY air purifier
Creating an air purifier at home is as simple as a box fan, a furnace filter the same size or larger than the fan, and bungee cords to secure the filter around the fan, Henning said. .
He recommends placing a filter on the back of the box fan, on the air intake side, to ensure that the air the fan blows into your home is purified.
Henning says it's important to keep all windows and doors in the home tightly closed to limit the amount of smoke entering.
For more information on DIY air purifiers, visit Gonzaga University's Institute for Climate, Water, and Environment's smoke and air quality preparedness resource page.
“There are plenty of DIY instructions on how to build a really simple air filtration device for your home so you and your family are better protected the next time there's bad wildfire smoke. I guess.”
When it comes to protection from wildfires, Henning believes that “the idea that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure is itself true.”
Wildfire smoke is getting worse
Wildfires are expected to get worse across the United States, with wildfire smoke posing an alarming health risk to 125 million Americans by mid-century, according to a study published earlier this year. It is said that there is a possibility that it will bring about
For decades, the effects of wildfires have been felt primarily on the West Coast, but the increase in dangerous wildfires and the spread of toxic smoke has become a national crisis, and the The Street Foundation's findings show that the situation is getting worse. .
“Many people in the Midwest and Northeast have never really thought about AQI,” Dr. Jeremy Porter, director of climate impact research at the First Street Foundation, told ABC News at the time.
“Suddenly it was in the news. Every day, weather forecasters announce the AQI at the beginning of the day, so we really get to know this problem that people in the West have been grappling with for decades. ,” Porter said.
Porter said 83 million people in the United States have already been exposed to what is known as a “red day,” or air pollution day.
“If we project the climate 30 years into the future, that population is expected to grow to about 125 million people,” Porter said.