UN experts have stated that significant increases in wildfires and heatwaves, intensified by the climate crisis, are hindering improvements to air quality globally. A new report indicates that regions which had seen a reduction in pollution from vehicles and industrial sites are now facing new air quality threats due to wildfire smoke.
The report also highlights that rising temperatures from intense heatwaves are causing a surge in ground-level ozone. This pollution, generated by climate-linked events, is contributing to climate breakdown, creating a feedback loop that risks worsening environmental issues.
Lorenzo Labrador, a scientific officer for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which issued the report, emphasised that "Air quality and climate cannot be treated as separate subjects; they are deeply intertwined and have to be treated together." The WMO's annual air quality and climate bulletin, released to coincide with the UN's international day for clean air, found that extreme wildfires are increasing, leading to serious health consequences due to the toxicity of the smoke.
The report notes that this trend, driven by a feedback loop between climate change and fire-conducive weather conditions, presents an "urgent and growing public health threat." Wildfire smoke exposure has been linked to increased asthma attacks, hospitalisations for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and impacts on mental health and birth outcomes. Ground-level ozone pollution, exacerbated by intense heatwaves, is also a concern, with roughly one in five deaths from COPD in heavily polluted regions now attributed to long-term ozone exposure.