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Nature Study Ties 2023 Canada Wildfire Smoke to About 82,000 Premature Deaths Worldwide

A modeling analysis based on satellite data maps the smoke’s reach, prompting calls for stronger air‑quality protections.

A wildfire burns on Mount Underwood near Port Alberni, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, on August 12, 2025. The BC Wildfire Service reports the blaze has expanded to roughly 8.6 square kilometres (3.3 square miles), prompting an evacuation order from campsites. (Photo by Colby Rex O'Neill / AFP) (Photo by COLBY REX O'NEILL/AFP via Getty Images)
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Scientists say extreme wildfires have become larger, more frequent and more intense as Earth's climate has warmed in recent decades

Overview

  • In North America and Europe, an estimated 354 million people experienced PM2.5 above WHO guideline levels due to long‑range smoke.
  • The analysis attributes nearly 70,000 premature deaths in those regions, with about 5,400 acute fatalities during intense smoke days and roughly 64,300 from longer‑term exposure.
  • Globally, the study estimates about 82,000 premature deaths, including approximately 33,000 in the United States and 8,300 in Canada.
  • Researchers tracked plumes from fires that burned roughly 17–18 million hectares in Canada, with smoke degrading air quality as far as Europe.
  • The authors caution that results come from statistical models and call for improved smoke forecasting, clean‑air shelters, filtration and masking as warming drives more severe fire seasons.