United States: The death toll has increased in the western parts of the United States because of unhealthy air from annual wildfires, according to a new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal on December 4.
According to the researchers, the process of clean American air between 2000 and 2020 has been hindered by wildlife. The shared stats have also underlined that the count of premature deaths has increased to 670 each year in the West.
Lead researcher, named Jun Wang, who is the chairperson of chemical and biochemical engineering at the University of Iowa, states, “Our air is supposed to be cleaner and cleaner, due mostly to EPA regulations on emissions, but the fires have limited or erased these air-quality gains.”
In addition to this, in a university news release, Wang stated, “In other words, all the efforts for the past 20 years by the EPA to make our air cleaner basically have been lost in fire-prone areas and downwind regions. We are losing ground.”
How was the research carried out?
According to the researchers, this study was conducted by monitoring the concentration of airborne black carbon across the United States. It is known that black carbon is a fine-particle air pollutant that directly results in respiratory and heart disease.
Further, the calculations were carried out through an AI program. As per the researchers, the program contributed to the gathering of air quality data from satellites and ground-based stations. Additionally, a formula – which calculated average lifespan, black carbon exposure and population density, was used to calculate the premature deaths.
Wang was quoted saying, “This is the first time to look at black carbon concentrations everywhere and at one-kilometer resolution,” according to the reports published by HealthDay News.
Findings of the study
The research concluded that the number of air pollutants has increased by 55 percent per year in the western United States. The major factor behind this increased number was wildfires in the region or in Canada.
Additionally, the researchers mentioned that this increase in deaths has contributed to the deaths of around 670 premature babies in a year.
The researchers, through the news release, expressed, “Wildfires have become increasingly intensive and frequent in the western US, resulting in a significant increase in smoke-related emissions in populated areas. This has likely contributed to a decline in air quality and an increase in attributable mortality.”
Researcher Wang has also underlined that the wildfires have also led to a decrease in air quality in the Mideast region of the United States. However, that hasn’t led to the death of any person. Wang was quoted saying, “We are on the borderline. If fires increase or become more frequent, our air quality will get worse.”
Reports have suggested that the United States did not register a major decline between the 2000 and 2020 period. However, the study has underlined that this data doesn’t include the Canadian wildfires that killed New York City.