As wildfires threaten air quality across Canada, the United States and Europe, Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) research shows the particulate pollution from these fires is cutting years off lives. Looking at data from 2023, Canada experienced its worst wildfire season in the country’s history. As wildfire smoke spread throughout the region, it led to the highest particulate pollution levels in Canada in at least 26 years, contributing to a 35 percent increase in pollution over the decade. Those living in the most impacted regions breathed air comparable to the most polluted parts of Latin America—pollution that could cut lives short by more than 2 years if sustained.
The 2023 threat in Canada, contributed to pollution levels not seen in over a decade in the United States. The resulting pollution spread across Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, and even extended to Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and as far south as Mississippi. Counties in these states were the 10 most polluted regions in the country that year—replacing counties in California which typically dominate the list. This summer, a similar pattern is emerging, with Canada’s wildfire smoke spreading throughout the Midwest and East Coast and triggering air quality alerts.
While Canada has experienced the greatest increase in wildfires of any country over the last decade, the country is not alone. Fires in France and Spain have also dominated headlines this summer. And, there’s growing evidence of a link between climate change, wildfire smoke, and rising particulate pollution over the past two decades. Globally, forest fires now burn more than twice as much tree cover each year as they did two decades ago, while climate change has increased the likelihood of these wildfires and fueled them to be more frequent and intense. At the same time, there is evidence that wildfire smoke has eroded air quality progress.
All of this evidence points to the fact that even with strict air quality standards and decades of strong enforcement, some countries cannot escape the ghost of fossil fuels past that are driving climate change.