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3h ago

AQLI: Wildfire Smoke Drove 2023’s Biggest Global Pollution Surge in U.S. and Canada

The index attributes the spike to record Canadian fires, translating the exposure into sizable losses in life expectancy.

A wildfire burns on Mount Underwood near Port Alberni, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, on August 12, 2025
People swim, play and walk in Kelowna City Park in B.C. in August 2023, amid 34 C temperature and air quality index of 10+, due to smoke from a wildfire about 83 kilometres southwest. A new report released today found that Canada experienced its worst pollution levels since 1998, with more than half of Canadians breathing air that surpassed our national standard.

Overview

  • Canada’s PM2.5 levels rose by more than 50% in 2023 versus 2022, with over half the population breathing air above the national 8.8 µg/m³ standard.
  • The United States saw an average 20% rise in particulate pollution, with smoke shifting top pollution hotspots from California to downwind states including Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
  • The AQLI estimates that if 2023 concentrations persist, residents in the hardest‑hit areas could lose more than two years of life expectancy relative to WHO air-quality guidelines.
  • Globally, PM2.5 edged up from 23.7 to 24.1 µg/m³ in 2023, even as concentrations fell within the European Union and in Central and West Africa.
  • The report draws on satellite measurements dating to 1998, and new reporting notes that 2025 already ranks as Canada’s second worst wildfire season, signaling continued smoke risks.