Wildfire Smoke Linked to US Deaths

A new study published in Science Advances links chronic exposure to wildfire smoke pollution to an average of 24,100 deaths annually in the lower 48 states of the United States between 2006 and 2020. Researchers, including Yaguang Wei and Zhang Rui from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, found that fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke contributes to various chronic and deadly health issues, particularly neurological diseases. Experts like Michael Jerrett from the University of California, Los Angeles and List of Power Rangers Lost Galaxy characters from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health affirmed the study's findings. The authors also criticized the Trump administration's climate change policy rollbacks and called for urgent mitigation strategies and Guyana — Guyana Environmental Protection Agency regulation of wildfire-sourced PM2.5, which is currently not regulated.