Image by Malachi Brooks/ Unsplash/ Tony Tran Studies
A new study found that wildfires can increase COVID-19-related deaths and infections.
According to The New York Times, Harvard researchers discovered that wildfire smoke can cause approximately 20,000 infections and 750 deaths from COVID-19. Researchers examined the effects of smoke from wildfires and cigarettes on immune system, revealing that they make people more susceptible to diseases like the coronavirus.
Wildfires can produce PM 2.5, a very dangerous particulate. Your lungs can be damaged by the chemicals in this smoke. It can be deadly when combined with COVID-19.
The researchers published their findings in Science Advances. They found strong evidence that high levels of PM2.5 in many counties significantly increased the health burden of Covid-19.
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite data was used by researchers. The researchers compared this information to CDC data on coronavirus infections in wildfire-affected areas and deaths.
The worst affected areas were in the west US, in states like Washington and California, which saw the most severe wildfires in the history of their respective states in 2020. Study results showed that asthma symptoms and visits to emergency rooms were increased by exposure to smoke from the blazes.
Mono County, California, for example, saw four consecutive days in which PM2.5 levels exceeded 500 micrograms per square meter. This is considered a dangerous level by the EPA. The average daily level is just 6 micrograms for this area if there are no wildfires.
This study provides a stark and disturbing look at the effects of climate change on human health and is an alarming reminder that this problem has not gone away. According to NYT, some researchers think that 2021 will be just as deadly as 2020 due to the highly contagious Delta virus and wildfires that have raged across the US.
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If you are not vaccinated, get it done. Don't listen to celeb children making snide remarks.
