Wildfire Smoke Can Cause Mental Health And Fertility Problems, According to New Research

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It is widely known that heavy smoke and air pollution can cause lung disease, cancer, and damage some people’s hearts. This has been observed, particularly in areas with high air pollution like India’s largest cities. In Los Angeles, the air has become dense with smoke from high wildfires and scientists have pointed out that people’s lungs are not the only health hazard.

New research shows that heavy smoke can cause dementia, other mental health and fertility problems. Fertility rates have already emerged as a problem across much of America.

Wired looked at issues beyond lung damage. “And the harmful effects don’t stop there. 2024 was a banner year for research on wildfire smoke and its impact on health, from brain functioning to fertility.” The effects were measured against other types of air pollution.

The problems will worsen over time according to another study. Over 100 million Americans will breathe air harmful to their health by 2054, based on data from First Street Foundation. “Places like California’s Central Valley, the San Francisco metro area, and much of Southern California are all expected to experience poor air quality up to 3 months worth of days in a bad year. In the future, major metro areas like Seattle and Portland are expected to see nearly two additional weeks of poor air quality, primarily due to the increasing occurrence of wildfires in the region.”

The wildfires along the Pacific Coast near LA and towns north of it have risen due to persistent drought. Rain from January storms from the Pacific is not usually enough to hold off this drought later in the year. So far in 2025, the frequency of those rain storms has dropped. And, wind speeds have risen above 80 MPH in some areas.

Whatever the negative effects of fire are on people, scientists have recently added mental health and fertility.