Fires in the USA cause 50% of the pollution

Fires in the United States are responsible for 50% of polluting emissions into the atmosphere, a new and worrying study reveals.

The fires that have devastated the United States, active until last autumn, are responsible for at least the 50% dell’air pollution of the country. Especially in the areas further west, where the emission of dangerous contaminants has reached record levels. This is what a new study, conducted by the University of California at San Diego reveals.

The researchers stressed that fires represent one of the most tangible consequences of climate change, a phenomenon that directly affects populations. For this reason, it is increasingly important to take measures to contain global warming, one of the main causes of the increase in bonfires.

Fires and pollution

The researchers, in the study published on Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they wanted to analyze the fumes emitted by US fires using satellite images. Then, they compared the distribution of the same with the increase of pollutants in the atmosphere, in particular of particulate matter. It therefore emerged that, on average, the fires that hit the US annually are responsible for 25% of particulate emissions. The violent 2020 season, with fires that have devastated much of the Pacific coast for months, would have brought this share to 50%.

This is a problem to be addressed immediately, as it is specific Marshall Burke, environmental science expert:

From a climate perspective, fires should be the first thought of us Americans. Most people don’t notice the rising sea levels. Many don’t experience hurricanes. Many, many people see the smoke from the fires.

One of the main questions that arises is how to deal with fires in the United States, which have been increasingly frequent since 2008. Although the country has achieved important milestones in terms of environmental protection, for example with a more extensive implementation of renewable sources, the progress achieved is nullified by the pollution generated by flames. So explains Dan Jaffe, a pollution expert for the University of Washington:

We have made major progress in improving the nation’s pollution levels, but at the same time we have other pieces of the puzzle that are not under control. We have reached the point where we must really think about how to manage the Planet in a more careful way than what we have done up to now.

Source: Colorado Sun