By the beginning of 2026, predictions suggest that Canada may face another intense wildfire season, with expectations that it could rank among the hottest years ever recorded. This comes on the heels of a catastrophic 2025 season, which was the second most severe in history, marked by widespread evacuations and large-scale, unmanageable fires. These wildfires have an impact on air quality and the environment in the northeastern U.S. and beyond.
Many states have issued air quality alerts due to unhealthy smoke and decreased visibility, and individuals who are immunocompromised or suffer from respiratory disorders have often been advised to stay inside as much as possible. Similar effects from wildfires and other natural disasters have long affected the health and safety of many Americans in other regions as well, including California, where more than 2 million homes are at risk of wildfire damage.
In light of the many recent events around wildfires, everyone, from providers to patients and people everywhere, must be informed about the impact wildfires have on airway health and how to manage and monitor airway health during this time.
Understanding Air Quality
How does a wildfire in western Canada impact people’s breathing and respiratory symptoms in Ohio and Pennsylvania? Wildfire smoke often drifts to local and regional population centers, affecting the surface-level air quality and worsening exposure to air pollutants, and complicating the formation of pollutants like ozone and secondary organic aerosols (SOAs).
Wildfires release large amounts of carbon dioxide, black carbon, brown carbon and ozone precursors into the atmosphere, and the direct emission of these toxic pollutants affects air quality for first responders and residents, even those in regions located far away from the fires.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced the Air Quality Index (AQI) to measure air pollutants in a given region. Higher AQIs indicate greater health concerns. When the AQI is 201 and higher, everyone, not just those with respiratory conditions, should be conscious of airway effects and limit their time outside as much as possible.
Wildfire Smoke and Health Effects
Fine particles in smoke are respiratory irritants, and exposure to high concentrations of irritants can trigger persistent coughing, phlegm, wheezing, and difficulty breathing. Even in healthy people without respiratory conditions, being exposed to fine particles can sometimes result in reduced lung function and pulmonary inflammation. More recent research has revealed that relatively low levels of air pollution can impact the lungs and heart, especially for those with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or cardiac disease.
Pollution can also impact the body’s ability to eliminate inhaled foreign objects, like viruses and bacteria, from the lungs.
While air pollution is bad for everyone affected, certain demographics, including people with heart or lung disease, older adults, infants, children, and pregnant women, are more sensitive to it than others.
Symptoms To Watch For
Inhaling smoke can result in a host of uncomfortable and dangerous symptoms. Some common exposure symptoms to look out for include:
- Coughing
- Trouble breathing
- Wheezing
- Asthma attacks
- Stinging eyes
- Scratchy throat
- Headaches
- Tiredness
- Chest pain
- Fast heartbeat
- Runny nose
- Irritated sinuses
Preparing for wildfires
It can be hard to predict the severity and effects of wildfires before they occur, but there are several steps first responders and individuals can take to be in the safest position possible, if and when they do occur. Stay up to date on wildfire smoke and associated airway symptoms, the locations of fires throughout the country, and which regions and demographics are most susceptible to fires and smoke and resulting airway complications.
Editor's note: This blog was originally from August 2023. It has been re-published with additional up to date content.
