Most People Experiencing More Days of Heavy Wildfire Smoke

Exposure to wildfire smoke has increased in the US over the past decade, with more than 87% of the nation’s population experiencing an increase in the number of days of heavy smoke, according to an analysis of satellite-collected and census data and information about communities’ sociodemographic, economic, and cultural characteristics. On average, the number of person-days of heavy smoke exposure increased 350% between the first and the second 5 years of the study from about 310 million person-days during 2011 to 2015 to about 1.4 billion person-days during 2017 to 2021.