Wildfire smoke can pose a threat to your health if you shelter inside.
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Public health officials simply advise residents to shut their doors and windows when wildfire smoke falls on a town or city. This is becoming more common in the American West. Limit outdoor activities.
Recent research has shown that this may not be enough for people's health.
Study after study on indoor air quality in wildfire smoke events revealed that microscopic particles, so small that they can infiltrate the bloodstream of people, can cause respiratory and cardiac problems.
This research reveals, for the first-time, how severe the climate-fueled fire season is posing to the public health of millions of Americans. The findings also show that there are ways people can protect their health.
According to University of California Berkeley research, homes that use air filters in conjunction with closing their windows and doors were able to reduce the amount of tiny particles known as PM2.5 by half.
Allen Goldstein, the senior author of the study, stated that while particulate matter indoors was still higher on wildfire days than non-wildfire days it was much lower than it would have been if people had not closed their buildings and added filtering.
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However, the results were not as good as many other impacts of climate change.
Older homes did better than newer ones that were better insulated and had air filters. This highlights the importance of air filtering for those who live in drafty houses.
Marshall Burke, an earth scientist at Stanford University who is also the author of a comparable study that will be published later in the fall, is one example. His home was engulfed in smoke for several weeks during last year's extraordinary fire season.
He said, "And I have 2 kids, one of whom is asthmatic. So I'm really concerned and interested in how those [indoor] exposures are like."
PurpleAir, a monitor that measures indoor air quality and then publishes it online, was purchased by him at a very affordable price.
He said, "And our indoor polluting was sky high during these wildfires events."
He examined data from PurpleAir monitors, and discovered that this was true across California. The air inside often was as bad as the outside. These findings shocked Burke and caused him to be concerned.
He said, "Fortunately, I can afford an air filter." "But that's not true for everyone."
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Wildfire smoke exposure is increasing.
NPR's analysis found that at least one in seven Americans were exposed to dangerous wildfire smoke last season. As massive wildfires have ravaged Canada and West's heat-baked, drought-wracked landscapes, tens of millions more have been directly affected.
The smoke generated air quality alerts from 3,000 miles away and enveloped the Statue of Liberty with a grey cloud.
Scientists are only beginning to understand the effects of smoking on human health. The information they have so far is not good.
Warmer climates mean wildfires are more frequent and of higher intensity. There's smoke everywhere there is fire.
The University of California, San Diego published a study earlier this year by the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. It found that small particles in wildfire smoke can be 10 times more dangerous than those from other sources like car exhaust.
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These tiny particles can cause headaches and increase hospitalizations.
Public health officials warn people to get shelter from thick smoke because of these known dangers.
However, the research shows that there must be an additional step.
Sarah Coefield, an air-quality specialist in Western Montana, believes that the public message during a smoke event should change from "Go inside" to "Go inside and clean your lungs."
Coefield was part of a team that collaborated with the Environmental Protection Agency to study air quality in public buildings and businesses during wildfire smoke events. The air monitors were placed in schools, daycares, libraries, businesses, and other public buildings. These are the places that Coefield recommends people visit during heat or smoke events.
Coefield stated that there was not one building in the city with air that was comparable to outside. You could have wished that some of these buildings were outside.
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Clean indoor air is a goal that's being pursued by many.
Coefield agrees with Coefield that air filters are the right solution. They are expensive. An expensive HVAC system for school can run into the thousands. A home air filter can be costly.
Because some people may not have the means to pay for this protection, the climate justice and environmental justice movements are urging more people to access air filtering.
Mason Dow and his volunteers applied square air filters from Home Depot to a stack box fans on a hot, smokey day in Missoula. Each material cost approximately $40.
Dow is employed by Climate Smart Missoula, a local non-profit that focuses on legislation and policies that reduce the impact of climate change. Dow stated that the impacts of climate change are already being felt and it was crucial to help people adapt.
He said, "That's just reality."
Volunteers working with Meals on Wheels receive the DIY filters. They are then distributed at Missoula Food Bank to the lower-income residents of the mountain town.
Janet Friede, 67 years old, is one such person. Despite her best efforts to keep her windows and doors closed in heatwave after heatwave this year, the smoke continues to escape.
She said that it made her feel ill, and she loaded a fan filter from a box into her car. "And tired. "Real tired."
She said that the free filter should be of some assistance.
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Climate Smart Missoula executive director Amy Cilimburg said that it feels a bit like a bandage. Because climate adaptation isn't what they usually do, she has put expenses for DIY air filters on her credit cards the past two summers.
She doesn't want to see the group lose sight of its primary goal, which is to get people to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. They are on track to have even more devastating impacts in the future.
She said, "We are trying to manage what is unavoidable." "But then, how can we avoid the unmanageable?"
This story was contributed by Daniel Lam
