Dangers from wildfire fumes

POLLUTION from wildfires is more damaging to people’s health than car exhausts or other fumes, warns a new study.

People exposed to pollution from wildfires are more likely to be admitted to hospital with respiratory problems, say scientists.

Wildfires release tiny airborne particles with a diameter of around 2.5 microns – about one 20th of a human hair.

If breathed in, these articles, known as PM2.5, can penetrate the bloodstream and damage the body’s vital organs.

While other sources of pollution such as cars also produce PM2.5, they are nowhere near as nasty, the researchers say.

Author Dr Rosana Aguilera at the University of California San Diego said: “Fine particles in wildfire smoke can be several times more harmful to human respiratory health than particulate matter from other sources such as car exhaust.

“While this distinction has been previously identified in laboratory experiments, this new study confirms it at the population level.”

Hospital admission data, which had been collected over 14 years in Southern California, was analysed by the researchers.