Previous studies may have underestimated the number of deaths related to wildfire smoke in Europe by as much as 93%, according to a report in The Lancet Planetary Health.
In new research, using daily mortality records from 654 contiguous regions in 32 European countries, researchers found that for every 1 microgram per cubit meter increase in wildfire smoke particles, all-cause mortality rose by 0.7%, respiratory mortality by 1%, and cardiovascular mortality by 0.9%.
Annually since 2004, short-term exposure to wildfire pollution was responsible for an average of 535 deaths from all causes, the researchers calculated – while estimates in previous studies had put that number at around 38 deaths per year, they said.
"Human-driven climate change is one of the main causes of the rising frequency and intensity of wildfires, as it creates favorable conditions for their spread and increases the number of days with very high or extremely high fire risk," study leader Anna Alari of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health said in a statement.
"Improving estimates of (wildfire smoke related) mortality will help better track the burden of this climate change-related threat to public health."
A separate study found that as wildfire pollution levels rise, firefighters' hearts work harder, researchers wrote in Circulation Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology.
After fighting the Park Fire in California, firefighters' heart rate at rest would rise by an average of 1.4 beats per minute for every 10-ug/m3 increase in particulate matter.
Although the increase in resting heart rate was modest, and the rate remained within normal levels, even slight elevations have been associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality over time in large population studies.
No comments:
Post a Comment