Wildfires, heat waves threaten global efforts to improve air quality: WMO

Increasing pollution from wildfires and heat waves risks undermining global efforts to improve air quality and protect human and ecosystem health, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned Monday.

In its annual Air Quality and Climate Bulletin, the UN agency highlighted the close links between climate change and air pollution and called for coordinated policies to address both.

The report said extreme fire-smoke events have tripled globally since the 1990s, citing a study estimating that they contributed to nearly 100,000 additional deaths annually between 2010 and 2018.

The WMO warned that conventional risk models may underestimate wildfire-attributable mortality by up to 93% because they fail to adequately account for the higher toxicity of fire-derived fine particulate matter, or PM2.5.

“Meeting the World Health Organization air quality guidelines will become progressively more difficult, since extreme fire weather is expected to increase in the future,” the bulletin said.

Heat waves are also worsening ground-level ozone pollution, with higher temperatures, stagnant air and intense sunlight promoting ozone formation.

The WMO said ozone-related health risks are expected to intensify, potentially contributing to tens of thousands of additional premature deaths.

The bulletin also called for improved monitoring of pollutants, including black carbon and atmospheric microplastics.