With wildfires raging across California, many are fearful for their homes and their lives. However, there is a hidden danger when it comes to wildfires. No, I am not talking about the blazing flames that leave destruction in their path, this is something more unexpected. Scientists have recently discovered that far away areas can feel the effects of wildfires thanks to this unexpected danger.
Far Away Areas Can Feel Effects Of Wildfires?
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Science Daily reports, "Researchers have shown that plumes of wildfire smoke can carry contaminants hundreds of kilometres, leaving a toxic and lingering footprint which has the potential to be re-released into the environment." While the fires in LA are the most recent of these devastating fires, there are not the first of their kind. Canada has also suffered from horrible wildfire seasons.
In 2023, they suffered their most destructive season ever. While the immediate threat is the flames, scientists and researchers began to explore the threat of pollution caused by these fires. Those researchers found that "wildfire smoke features a complex mixture of pollutants, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a class of carcinogenic compounds that can also cause mutations in nature."
Doesn't sound good does it? The new study focuses on how these PAHs can travel downwind as far as hundreds of kiolmetres away from the fire source. While the study was motivated by the large increase in Canadian wildfires, the information helps everyone across North America.
What Did They Find ?
One of the lead authors of the study argued, "There is a great deal of public awareness and research on air quality related to North American wildfires, but the long-term impact of smoke drifting into cities is virtually unknown." Hopefully, this study will help us learn more. Researchers began to notice a buildup which they called "urban grime" on the impermeable structures of these urban areas.
According to the study this grime is "a buildup of deposited particles and other chemical compounds that can hold and re-release pollutants such as PAHs." Thus meaning that even in the wildfire is not happening in your neighborhood, you could still suffer the consequences of it.
