Landscape fires are an increasing environmental and health threat fuelled by climate change. While 221 direct deaths were reported globally in 2018, a study published in The Lancet reveals more than 1.5 million people died globally from illnesses caused by exposure to pollution from wild/bush fires.
The study, led by Professor Yuming Guo, from Monash University is the largest and most comprehensive study of the global, regional and national mortality burden attributable to air pollution caused by wild/bush fires.
Importantly the study found geographic and socio-economic differences in mortality and a global trend of increasing cardiovascular deaths due to fire pollution.
Of the 1.53 million deaths annually directly attributable to landscape fire pollution the researchers found:
- 450,000ardiovascular deaths
- 220,000 million respiratory deaths
- Sub-Saharan Africa had the largest burden, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of global deaths
- Southeast Asia, East Asia and Eastern Europe bore the largest cardiovascular deaths.
- Over 90 per cent of wild/bush firesattributable deaths were in low- and middle-income countries led by China, India, Congo, Indonesia and Nigeria.
- Eastern Europe had the highest cardiovascular deaths caused by wild/bush
- Deaths caused by wild/bush firewere four times higher in low-income countries than high-income countries
- Lower socio-economic countries were more likely to have higher deaths from respiratory illness caused by fires than higher socio-economic countries
- The global cardiovascular deaths due to fire pollution increased by an average 1.67 per cent per year
According to Professor Guo, the global health burden due to pollution from fire "will increase because of the increase in frequency and severity of fires in a warming climate," he said.
"Urgent actions are required to address such substantial health impacts and the associated environmental injustice."
The study reveals for the first time the actual health risks from wild/bush fires, particularly fine particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5µm or less [PM2.5] and ozone [O3]. "They often travel hundreds and even thousands of kilometres away and affect much larger populations than flames and heat do," Professor Guo said.
"At least 90 per cent of global landscape fire emissions of PM2.5 are likely to be contributed by wildfires, and this proportion may increase with climate change."
