How Wildfire Smoke Becomes More Deadly
Some wildfire smoke unexpectedly kills Americans, according to a new report posted at earth.org titled “Climate change is making wildfire smoke more deadly.”
The authors wrote, “A new study shows that wildfire smoke intensified by climate change triggered about 15,000 additional deaths between 2006 and 2020.” Academics from the University of Oregon did much of the work.
The smoke from wildfires is more deadly than that from large storms. “The average annual death rate came to 5.14 per 100,000 people – roughly twice the national rate from hurricanes and other tropical cyclones.” The economic loss from the additional deaths was approximately $160 billion based on the “value of a statistical life.” calculations.
44,000 Wildfires
The group looked at over 44,000 wildfires, which began after 1958.
The tragedy of the numbers is that huge wildfires are growing and spreading further across the US. Aside from the massive LA wildfires, there have been fires in New Jersey, the Carikiunes, and small ones in New York City.
The data on rising smoke deaths are doubtful, and it is doubtful that they will motivate investment in reducing wildfire incidents.
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