As Santa Ana wind conditions continue to stoke fears of resurgent wildfires across Los Angeles, health officials are warning of yet another wind-borne threat: ash and dust from active fire zones and burn scars.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued a windblown dust and ash advisory until 7 p.m. Wednesday.
During this time, ash may be dispersed from the Palisades and Eaton fire areas, as well as from the Hurst, Kenneth, Line, Airport and Bridge fire burn scars, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
“Windblown ash particles may be too large to be detected by air quality instrumentation and will not influence Air Quality Index levels,” the advisory stated. “However, ash particles are typically visible to the naked eye either in the air or on outdoor surfaces.”
Experts say wildfire smoke is unsafe for everyone and all area residents should be worried about the potential health impacts from this pollutant.
The cause for concern is that “the main component of smoke is particulate matter, and that can penetrate deep into the lungs, which directly causes respiratory issues, but it can also enter the bloodstream, where it can cause a range of other health issues,” said Anne Kelsey Lamb, director of Regional Asthma Management and Prevention.
Wildfire smoke can be extremely harmful to the lungs of at-risk people, which include children whose lungs are still developing, pregnant women, older adults and those with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic heart disease or diabetes, according to the American Lung Association.
Exposure to air pollution like wildfire smoke can also lead to the onset of asthma in otherwise healthy people, Lamb said.
As wildfires have become more common, researchers have been learning that wildfire smoke, depending on what it consists of, can be even more dangerous to public health than other types of air pollution.
Last year, the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation published a study in the journal Science Advances that, in an 11-year span, found an estimated total of more than 55,000 premature deaths from inhaling fine particulate matter known as PM2.5, or soot, from wildfires.
Air pollutants from wildfires are dangerous to the immediate fire zone and surrounding communities, but the harm can reach out farther than that.
Lamb noted that during the 2018 Camp fire in Butte County, researchers found smoke with lead in it 150 miles away from the fire zone.
“Even people who aren’t in the immediate vicinity of the fire are likely still facing some of the impacts of the smoke from it,” she said. “I encourage everyone in the broader area to take the same precautions that we would recommend for someone who’s really right there in the midst of it.”
What’s possibly in the air? In the ash?
We know that wildfire smoke can include toxic materials such as lead, asbestos and arsenic, which can lead to additional health harms, Lamb said.
Part of the reason why wildfire smoke from the Los Angeles-area fires is particularly concerning is because—in addition to PM2.5—the smoke from this disaster can include harmful components that were part of houses, items inside the home, buildings and cars that burned.
Toxic chemicals from plastics and paint from houses and furniture are a few examples of what has been burned and is being released in the air, said Anthony Wexler, director of the Air Quality Research Center at UC Davis.
Researchers are still working to understand the relative toxicity of these specific chemical pollutants during a fire event.
“We’ve done some experiments, some early experiments in my lab showing that it’s more toxic, the building materials, than burning wooded material,” Wexler said. “But again, we have just a little bit of data.”
In the face of uncertainty, he said, “people should protect themselves as much as they can.”
Local and regional public health officials are recommending that at-risk people stay indoors with the windows and doors closed—while keeping the indoor air clean.
“You have permission to be a couch potato, as long as you have electricity so you can watch the tube,” Wexler said.
The more you do outside, the more you’re going to expose yourself to all the harmful air pollutants.
Wexler advises you whip out the protective gear that you had for the pandemic: air purifiers, N95 masks, gloves and protective eye wear (in case you have to go outside).
If I have to be outside what can I do to stay safe?
If people need to be outside, experts recommend wearing an N95 mask.
That’s because those are really the only masks that are going to filter out the damaging fine particles, Lamb said.
“The surgical masks allow too much air to get in, because it’s not the tight fit,” she said. “It doesn’t filter out as fine particles as the N95 does.”
Researchers have looked into wearing cloth masks during wildfire smoke and found that it “led to more exposure because some of the smoke sort of settled in the material and then it was continuously breathed in,” Lamb said.
There are a lot of Los Angeles residents who are out in surrounding communities volunteering their time to local disaster relief efforts, providing essential services and working.
“We want people to volunteer and help out, because we need that,” Wexler said.
But there are further safety steps that men with beards should take, he said.
Bearded men need to shave or at least cut back facial hair as much as possible so that a protective mask makes a firm seal around the face, keeping pollutants out.
Experts also urge everyone to remove clothes worn while working outside, including shoes, before entering the home. Put the clothes in the wash right away, because some of the particulate they carry can come inside the home and affect other people that are there, Lamb said.
One thing to remember, Lamb said is that the components of the pollutants, including ash, will settle on the ground and can be aerosolized again when disturbed as part of the cleanup efforts.
“There may be no way to avoid that happening, but to avoid exposure, make sure you’re wearing a mask and I would even have on eye wear, gloves and change clothes,” she said.
I have pets, how can I protect them?
As irritating as smoke can be for people, it can cause health problems for your pets too.
Animals with cardiovascular or respiratory disease are especially at risk from smoke and should be closely watched during all periods of poor air quality, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Experts share the following information to keep your beloved animals safe during a poor or unhealthy air quality event:
Keep pets indoors as much as possible, and keep your windows shut.
Smoke is especially tough on your pet birds. Keep them inside when smoke is present.
Let dogs and cats outside only for brief bathroom breaks if air quality alerts are in effect.
Avoid intense outdoor exercise during periods of poor air quality. Exercise pets when dust and smoke has settled.
When can I stop wearing a mask and safely open my windows?
In regard to the current windblown advisory, experts advise you check for updates from local officials and follow their safety guidance:
Updates from the Los Angeles Department of Public Health can be found in the “news and updates” section of the Fire Safety and Health Information webpage.
Updates from the South Coast Air Quality Management District can be found on the “Air Quality Advisories” webpage. When an advisory is over it will be labeled “No Active Advisories at This Time.”
How can I check the air quality in my area?
Even though windblown ash particles may be too large to be detected by air quality instrumentation and officials warn it will not influence Air Quality Index levels, you should still keep an eye on the air quality in your area.
When you are looking at the air quality reading keep in mind the harmful particles that are not being recorded.
You can do so with the following tools:
AirNow, the online website and the app, created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, includes information from their permanent air quality monitors as well as temporary air quality monitors that will be put in place in incidents like this. It has an updated Fire and Smoke map, or you can enter your zip code and check the air in your community.
Purple Air is a company that helps monitor air quality by selling easy-to-install sensors with real-time data on various particulate matter levels. Purple Air has a free online map with real-time air quality data.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District issues advisories, guidance and warnings in regards to air quality impacts. It has a current hourly air quality index map and a webpage dedicated to news releases of such advisories.
All resources will provide a number for the air quality index (AQI). If it’s greater than 100, that is considered unhealthy for sensitive and at-risk groups. If it’s greater than 150, it is considered unhealthy for all people.
Levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exceeding World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines have been found in hotspots across Dublin city, according to a new study.
Data collected by University College Dublin and Dublin City University (DCU) researchers shows high levels of NO2 and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) across Dublin’s inner city.
Areas of particularly high concentrations included Cork Street, O’Connell Street, along the Quays, and in the area around Temple Bar.
The data showed that during the sampling period, 49.4% of days exceeded WHO guidelines for NO₂ levels, with peaks during rush hours, especially in winter. The findings are published in the journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research.
Collected as part of the Google Air View project over a period of 16 months, using electric Google Street View cars equipped with air sensors, the data showed that during the sampling period, almost 50% of days exceeded WHO guidelines for NO₂ levels, with peaks during rush hours, especially in winter.
Carried out by Dr. Jiayao Chen, Dr. Anna Mölter, Dr. José Pablo Gómez-Barrón and Professor Francesco Pilla, UCD’s School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, and Dr. David O’Connor from DCU’s School of Chemical Sciences, the study suggests the potential of a mobile monitoring approach to investigating hyperlocal air pollutants across cities.
“Traffic pollution is a critical issue in urban cities, often contributing to or exacerbating environmental or social-economic inequalities,” said Dr. Chen.
“Our finding represents a unique case for Dublin—on highly polluted days, domestic heating emerged as the dominant contributor to PM2.5 at street level. Our research emphasizes the need for detailed temporal guidance, especially for vulnerable populations, to help guide safe indoor and outdoor activities.
“With the EU recently introducing stricter air quality guidelines, our findings underscore the need for long-term, localized monitoring to inform strategic mitigation plans tailored to both local and regional scales.”
Dr. O’Connor added, “As more cities adopt hyperlocal sensing, the potential to create healthier urban environments grows. Localized air quality data provides the foundation for tailored, evidence-based policy solutions that can tackle pollution at its source, particularly in high-risk and vulnerable areas.”
A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that long-term exposure to air pollution contributes to millions of deaths in India. The research, published in The Lancet Planetary Health, emphasizes the need for stricter air quality regulations in the country.
Air pollution consisting of particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, PM2.5, can enter the lungs and bloodstream and is a major health risk in India. Researchers have now examined the link between these particles and mortality over a 10-year period. The study is based on data from 655 districts in India between 2009 and 2019.
“We found that every 10 microgram per cubic meter increase in PM2.5 concentration led to an 8.6% increase in mortality,” says Petter Ljungman, last author and researcher at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet.
The research analyzed the relationship between changes in air pollution levels and mortality. The results show that around 3.8 million deaths over the period can be linked to air pollution levels above India’s own air quality guidelines of 40 micrograms per cubic meter.
When compared to the stricter guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO)—only 5 micrograms per cubic meter—the figure rises to 16.6 million deaths. That’s almost 25% of all mortality during the study period.
The study also highlights that the entire population of India lives in areas where PM2.5 levels exceed WHO guidelines. This means that almost 1.4 billion people are exposed year after year to air pollution that can negatively affect health. In some regions, levels of up to 119 micrograms per cubic meter were measured, significantly higher than what both the WHO and India consider safe.
“The results show that current guidelines in India are not sufficient to protect health. Stricter regulations and measures to reduce emissions are of the utmost importance,” said Petter Ljungman.
The Indian government has been running a national air pollution control program since 2017 to improve air quality, but the study shows that PM2.5 concentrations have continued to increase in many areas. The researchers emphasize the importance of both reducing emissions locally and taking into account the long range of air pollution—PM2.5 particles can travel hundreds of kilometers.
“Our study provides evidence that can be used to create better air quality policies, both in India and globally,” says Petter Ljungman.
New study projects a sharp rise in temperature- and pollution-related mortality, with the impact of temperature surpassing that of pollution for a fifth of the global population.
Mortality attributable to air pollution and extreme temperatures is a major concern, and it is expected to heighten in the future. In a new study led by the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, an international research team found that, under the most probable projection, annual mortality rates linked to air pollution and extreme temperatures could reach 30 million by the end of the century. The research, based on advanced numerical simulations, suggests a concerning trend: pollution-related deaths are expected to increase five-fold, while temperature-related mortality could rise seven-fold, posing a more critical health risk than air pollution for at least 20% of the world’s population.
The researchers base their calculations on projections from 2000 to 2090, analyzed in ten-year intervals. “In 2000, around 1.6 million people died each year due to extreme temperatures, both cold and heat. By the end of the century, in the most probable scenario, this figure climbs to 10.8 million, roughly a seven-fold increase. For air pollution, annual deaths in 2000 were about 4.1 million. By the century’s close, this number rises to 19.5 million, a five-fold increase,” explains Dr. Andrea Pozzer, group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz and adjunct associate professor at The Cyprus Institute in Nicosia, Cyprus.
The study shows significant regional differences in future mortality rates. South and East Asia are expected to face the strongest increases, driven by aging of the population, with air pollution still playing a major role. In contrast, in high-income regions-; such as Western Europe, North America, Australasia, and Asia Pacific-;deaths related to extreme temperatures are expected to surpass those caused by air pollution. In some countries within these regions, such as the United States, England, France, Japan and New Zealand, this shift is already occurring. The disparity is likely to grow, with extreme temperatures becoming a more significant health risk than air pollution also in countries of Central and Eastern Europe (e.g., Poland and Romania) and parts of South America (e.g., Argentina and Chile).
By the end of the century, temperature-related health risks are expected to outweigh those linked to air pollution for a fifth of the world’s population, underscoring the urgent need for comprehensive actions to mitigate this growing public health risk.
“Climate change is not just an environmental issue; it is a direct threat to public health,” says Andrea Pozzer. “These findings highlight the critical importance of implementing decisive mitigation measures now to prevent future loss of life”, adds Jean Sciare, director of the Climate and Atmosphere Research Center (CARE-C) of The Cyprus Institute, key contributor to the study.
A new study by heart researchers at Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City finds that patients with heart disease, specifically those with heart failure, are especially vulnerable to the impacts of air pollution and poor air quality and can take steps to protect themselves.
Results from the Intermountain Health study, presented at the American Heart Association’s 2024 Scientific Sessions international conference in Chicago, found that two inflammatory markers—CCL27 (C-C motif chemokine ligand 27) and IL-18 (interleukin 18)—were elevated in heart failure patients who were exposed to poor air quality, but did not change in those without heart disease.
This indicates that such air pollution events put more strain on the bodies of patients who already have heart problems.
While previous research has shown that people with some chronic health conditions, like heart failure, coronary disease, asthma, and COPD, struggle during spikes in air pollution, the new Intermountain Health study demonstrates that cardiac inflammation levels specifically rise in people with heart disease during periods of poor air quality.
“These biomarkers rose in response to air pollution in people who already had heart disease, but not in patients who were heart disease free, showing that heart failure patients are not as able to adapt to changes in the environment,” said Benjamin Horne, Ph.D., principal investigator of the study and professor of research at Intermountain Health.
For the retrospective study, Intermountain Health researchers worked with scientists at Stanford University and the Harvard School of Public Health to examine the blood of patients enrolled in the Intermountain INSPIRE registry, which collects blood and other biological samples, medical information and laboratory data from healthy individuals and those who have been diagnosed with a variety of medical conditions.
Researchers specifically looked at blood tests for 115 different proteins that are signs of increased inflammation in the body.
They then examined blood draws of 44 patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, and 35 people without heart disease. Some blood was drawn on days with low air pollution, where ambient PM2.5 levels were under 7 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3) of air; those test results were compared to draws done in other people on days when air pollution spiked to PM2.5 levels of 20 μg/m3 or over.
These spikes were caused by either wildfire smoke in the summer, or during a winter inversion, where air pollution is trapped when warm air holds pollution closer to the ground.
Researchers found that two inflammatory markers—CCL27 and IL-18—were elevated in heart failure patients, but did not change in those without heart disease, indicating that such air pollution events put more strain on the bodies of patients who already have heart problems.
These findings “give us some information about mechanisms in people with heart failure who are having inflammation and suggest they’re not as capable in responding to acute inflammation as people who are healthy,” said Dr. Horne.
He added that the results from the study suggest that heart failure patients need to take extra precautions during times when air pollution is high.
“It’s important that individuals with known heart disease, including those diagnosed with heart failure, need to be especially cautious during periods of poor air quality. This includes exercising indoors, making sure to take their prescribed medications, and avoiding areas like roadways and highways where there’s a lot more traffic and pollution,” he said.
Air pollution in India’s national capital increased to ‘severe’ on an official index on Wednesday for the first time this season as temperatures and wind speeds dropped, reducing visibility and affecting some flights.
Delhi overtook Pakistan’s Lahore as the world’s most polluted city in Swiss group IQAir’s live rankings, and India’s pollution control authority said the national capital territory’s 24-hour air quality index (AQI) score had touched 418.
The Central Pollution Control Board defines an AQI reading of 0-50 as “good”, and above 401 as “severe”, which affects healthy people and “seriously impacts” those with existing diseases.
The Indian capital battles smog – a toxic mix of smoke and fog – every winter as cold air traps dust, emissions, and smoke from illegal farm fires.
Authorities have on occasion closed schools, stopped some building work, and placed restrictions on private vehicles to curb the problem.
Pakistan’s Punjab province, which shares a border with India and is also battling toxic air, has this month banned outdoor activities, closed schools and ordered some shops, markets, and malls to close early.
The concentration of PM2.5 – particulate matter measuring 2.5 microns or less in diameter that can be carried into lungs, causing deadly diseases and cardiac issues – in Delhi was more than 120 times the World Health Organisation’s recommended levels on Wednesday morning, IQAir said.
Weather department officials also blamed the smog, which reduced visibility to zero in some places, on high humidity, low wind speed, and the minimum temperature dropping to 17 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit) from 17.9 C a day before.
At least eight flights were diverted from the city’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, news agency ANI reported.
Dense fog – defined as that which reduces visibility to 50-200 metres (164-657 ft) – was expected to continue over northwest India for the “next 2-3 days”, the India Meteorological Department said.
Drawing on evidence involving about 25 million people worldwide, an international research team led by the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry demonstrates that long-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 significantly increases the risk of asthma, affecting both children and adults. The researchers find that approximately 30% of new asthma cases worldwide were linked to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure, highlighting the dramatic threat air pollution poses to public health.
Asthma is currently an incurable disease that severely impairs quality of life, with recurring symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. As of today, about 4% of the world’s population suffers from asthma, with more than 30 million new cases arising annually.
Evidence suggests that long-term exposure to air pollution of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is an important risk factor for developing asthma. However, inconsistencies in findings from earlier epidemiological studies have left this potential health risk open to debate, as some studies observed an increased risk while others found no association.
To resolve this controversy, Dr. Ruijing Ni, the first author of the study published in the journal One Earth, and her colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry have conducted a comprehensive global meta-analysis with researchers from China, the U.S., and Australia.
The research team determined the data from 68 epidemiological studies from 2019 conducted across 22 countries, including those in North America, Western Europe, East Asia, South Asia, and Africa. They conclude that there is now sufficient evidence with high confidence level to support an association between long-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 and asthma.
11% of new cases of asthma in Germany are attributable to particulate matter
“We estimate that globally in 2019, almost a third of asthma cases are attributable to long-term PM2.5 exposure, corresponding to 63.5 million existing cases and 11.4 million new cases. In Germany, the pollution may have been responsible for 11% of new asthma cases, which corresponds to 28,000 people. We also find that the risk of asthma associated with PM2.5 is much higher in children than in adults, reflecting the age-related vulnerability,” says Dr. Ni.
Typically, the full maturation of lung and immune function is gradually completed until early adulthood. As a result, children may be more susceptible to air pollution exposure, which can lead to airway oxidative stress, inflammation, and hyper-responsiveness, as well as changes in immunological responses and respiratory sensitization to allergens. All these factors play a role in the development of asthma.
Further using these data, the research team established exposure-response curves for both childhood and adult asthma. Such curves are widely employed to quantitatively assess health risks by illustrating the relationship between the level of exposure to a particular substance, e.g., PM2.5 and the magnitude of the effect it produces, e.g., asthma risk.
The exposure-response curves were determined by incorporating evidence from countries and regions across various income levels, which capture the global variation in PM2.5 exposure. “This initiative is important for quantifying global health effects of air pollution,” comments Prof. Yuming Guo, an epidemiologist from Monash University.
Countries with different income levels and particulate matter pollution considered
Populations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are typically exposed to higher concentrations of air pollution and bear a greater burden of PM2.5. In contrast, research on the health effects of PM2.5 has been limited in these regions previously, with the majority of studies conducted in North America and Western Europe.
Consequently, attempting a global health impact assessment of PM2.5 exposure necessitates extrapolating exposure-response associations observed in high-income countries to LMICs. The approach may introduce large uncertainty due to the differences in air pollution sources, health care systems, and demographic characteristics between high-income countries and LMICs.
The inclusion of evidence from several LMICs mitigates the limitation in approach and enables the exposure-response curves to be applicable to assess city- to global-scale attributable burden of asthma, as well as asthma health benefits associated with air pollution reductions, e.g., health benefits obtained from policy-driven reductions in air pollution under different scenarios.
“Our findings highlight the urgent need for policymakers to enforce stringent legislation to continuously combat air pollution, while personal protective measures, such as wearing masks, can also help reduce individual exposure and mitigate the risk of asthma,” emphasizes Prof. Yafang Cheng, the corresponding author of the study and the director at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry.
The study was conducted by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (Germany), the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (China), University of Washington (U.S.), and Monash University (Australia).
Long term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution is linked to a higher risk of infertility in men, whereas road traffic noise is linked to a higher risk of infertility in women over 35, finds a Danish study published by The BMJ.
If these findings are confirmed in future studies, they could help guide strategies to regulate noise and air pollution to protect the general population from these exposures, say the researchers.
Infertility is a major global health problem affecting one in seven couples trying to conceive.
Several studies have found negative links between particulate air pollution and sperm quality and success after fertility treatment, but results on fecundability (the likelihood of conceiving) are inconsistent, and no studies have investigated the effects of transport noise on infertility in men and women.
To address this uncertainty, researchers set out to investigate whether long term exposure to road traffic noise and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution was associated with a higher risk of infertility in men and women.
Their findings are based on national registry data for 526,056 men and 377,850 women aged 30–45 years, with fewer than two children, cohabiting or married, and residing in Denmark between 2000 and 2017.
This group was selected to include a high proportion of people actively trying to become pregnant, and thus at risk of an infertility diagnosis. Individuals with an existing infertility diagnosis were excluded, as were women who had undergone surgery that prevents pregnancy and men who were sterilized.
Yearly average PM2.5 concentrations and road traffic noise levels at each participant’s address (1995–2017) were calculated, and infertility diagnoses were recorded from the national patient register.
Infertility was diagnosed in 16,172 men and 22,672 women during an 18-year follow-up period (average of just over 4 years).
After adjusting for several potentially influential factors including income, education level, and occupation, exposure to 2.9 µg/m3 higher average levels of PM2.5 over five years was associated with a 24% increased risk of infertility in men aged 30-45 years. PM2.5 was not associated with infertility in women.
Exposure to 10.2 decibels higher average levels of road traffic noise over five years was associated with a 14% increased risk of infertility among women older than 35 years. Noise was not associated with infertility among younger women (30–35 years).
In men, road traffic noise was associated with a small increased risk of infertility in the 37-45 age group, but not among those aged 30-37 years.
The higher risk of noise related infertility in women and PM2.5 related infertility in men was consistent across people living in rural, suburban, and urban areas as well as across people with low, medium, and high socioeconomic status.
This is an observational study, so it can’t establish cause, and the researchers acknowledge that couples not trying to conceive may have been included, and that information on lifestyle factors and exposure to noise and air pollution at work and during leisure activities was lacking.
However, this was a large study based on reliable health and residential data that used validated models to assess pollution and noise levels, and the researchers were able to account for a range of important social and economic factors.
As such, they conclude, “If our results are confirmed in future studies, it suggests that political implementation of air pollution and noise mitigations may be important tools for improving birth rates in the Western world.”
More information: Long term exposure to road traffic noise and air pollution and risk of infertility in men and women: nationwide Danish cohort study, The BMJ (2024). DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2024-080664
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