Wildfire smoke may increase the risk of dementia, study finds

Published by: The Guardian
Published on: July 29, 2024

A new US study has found that wildfire smoke may be worse for brain health than other types of air pollution and even increase the risk of dementia.

The findings, reported on Monday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Philadelphia, come as millions spent the weekend under air quality warnings from wildfires spewing smoke across the western US, including a huge wildfire in California that has grown to more than 360,000 acres.

At issue is fine particulate matter or PM 2.5 – tiny particles about 30 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair that can be inhaled deep into the lungs and move to the bloodstream. This pollution – from traffic, factories and fires – can cause or worsen heart and lung diseases, and the new study adds to evidence it may play some role in dementia, too.

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climate crisis

This wildfire season, changes are coming to better inform people about smoke hazards

Published May 20, 2024

Published by: The Canadian Press
Published on: May 20, 2024
By Sonja Puzic

Last year’s record-breaking wildfire season forced Canadians to become familiar with the scale of air pollution as hazardous smoke drifted across the country.

Environment Canada’s colour-coded Air Quality Health Index, designed to help people understand health risks associated with contaminated air, was closely watched under hazy, orange skies that stretched beyond the Canada-U.S. border.

But the AQHI, measured on a scale from one to 10+, was not calculated the same way in all provinces and some people were unsure how index values applied to their daily activities.

Environment Canada hopes several changes being made this year will improve how air quality-related health risks are communicated and understood by the public.

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climate crisis

Risk of wildfire smoke in Ottawa low — for now: Environment Canada

Published May 13, 2024

Published by: Ottawa Citizen
Published on: May 13, 2024
By Blair Crawford

Smoke from wildfires in Western Canada will soon be drifting high overhead, but it poses no health risk in Eastern Ontario, says Environment Canada.

“Taking a look at our guidance and the weather patterns this week and the way things are panning out, it doesn’t look like Eastern Ontario needs to be concerned about its air quality at this time,” Trudy Kidd, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, said Monday.

“At best, people might see some haze in the skies in the coming days as the forest fire smoke makes its way through and disperses aloft, but from what we can tell at this time, the particulate matter — and that’s what’s of concern when it comes to forest fires — we’re expecting it to stay aloft,” she said.

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climate crisis

Wildfire smoke could move into Ottawa, eastern Ontario tonight

Published May 13, 2024

Published by: CTV News
Published on: May 13, 2024
By William Eltherington

Wildfires in western Canada will likely bring smoke into Ottawa and eastern Ontario starting on Monday and into Tuesday morning.

CTV’s Your Morning chief meteorologist Kelsey McEwen says smoke could travel as far as Quebec City by Tuesday morning with air quality advisories being issued in five provinces.

“You can see the Jetstream pulling that smoke down south of the border through the Dakotas and back up through the Great Lakes,” McEwen said.

“By tomorrow, this begins to slide toward the Ottawa-Gatineau area, tomorrow morning and out toward Quebec City.”

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climate crisis

Smoky skies back in Alberta as wildfires spread

Published May 12, 2024

Published by: CBC News
Published on: May 12, 2024

Just as the last vestiges of winter gave way to a few days of warm weather, smoke has clouded Alberta’s skies, bringing with it a foreboding memory of summers past, as wildfires continue to burn in the northern parts of the province.

Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued 321 air quality alerts, spanning the province from High Level to Milk River. Alberta Wildfire is reporting 50 active wildfires as of 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, with two currently classified as out-of-control.

One, near Fort McMurray, tripled in size overnight to extend its reach to about 5,500 hectares. The other, burning in Grande Prairie County in northwestern Alberta, had grown to about 1,400 hectares as of 1 p.m. Sunday.

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climate crisis

Edmonton to see smoky skies, poor air quality into Monday night

Published May 12, 2024

Published by: CTV News
Published on: May 12, 2024
By Brittany Ekelund

Edmontonians saw a slight improvement in the smoky skies Sunday.

The air quality index in the city had dropped from a 10 – very high risk – to a high-risk 9 by Sunday afternoon.

According to Environment Canada, wildfire smoke is harmful even at low concentrations, and residents in affected areas were told to reduce or reschedule strenuous outdoor activities and watch for symptoms such as coughing and throat irritation.

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indoor air quality

Canada needs to improve indoor air quality for kids as an early wildfire season looms, advocates say

Published April 25, 2024

Published by: Toronto Star
Published on: April 25, 2024
By Kevin Jiang

Children are particularly susceptible to harm from air pollutants … They’re much more vulnerable to the health effects of poor indoor air quality because their bodies, brains and respiratory systems are still developing.

— Erica Phipps, Executive Director of Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and Environment (CPCHE)

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N95 respirators

Public Health should offer N95 masks

Published June 28, 2023

Published by: Ottawa Citizen
Published on: June 28, 2023
By Mike Buckthought

Re: Heavy smoke, smog wallop Ottawa, cancelling Dragon Boat, Indigenous festivals, June 25.

Thanks to climate change, we’re experiencing unprecedented hazardous air quality. Concentrations of pollutants have been an order of magnitude greater than the levels in major cities. And more smoke is on the way.

Ottawa Public Health should follow the example of public health organizations in other cities: it should distribute N95 respirators to Ottawa residents. Huron Perth Public Health is now offering respirators to residents who are at high risk for respiratory issues.

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Wildfire smoke may have contributed to thousands of extra COVID-19 cases and deaths in western U.S. in 2020

The Apple Fire burns north of Beaumont, California, on July 31, 2020. Photo: Brody Hessin. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en

climate crisis

Wildfire smoke may have contributed to thousands of extra COVID-19 cases and deaths in western U.S. in 2020

Published August 13, 2021

Published by: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Published on: August 13, 2021

Thousands of COVID-19 cases and deaths in California, Oregon, and Washington between March and December 2020 may be attributable to increases in fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke, according to a new study co-authored by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

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