A new study reveals that almost two-thirds of the Americans are affected by wildfire smoke, according to a Thursday report of an environmental group.
Kim Knowlton, lead author of the study and a senior scientist of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and her colleagues studied the government satellite images of smoke plumes captured in 2011 to find out how far the wildfire smoke travels across distant communities and the level of air pollution present on areas affected.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smokes from wildfires contain gases and fine particles from burning trees and other plant materials. It hurts the eyes, irritates the respiratory system, and worsens heart and lung diseases. Exposure to wildfire smoke may cause serious health concerns especially to those who have heart and lung diseases, older adults, and children.
The study showed that about 212 million Americans who are living 50 times more square miles from the actual place of the wildfire were exposed to medium to high levels of smoke up to 12 days from the start of fire. Most of the affected areas are located in the West reaching up to 32 states.
"It affects a much wider area of the United States than people realize," Knowlton told USA Today.
The most affected state, according to the study, was Texas lasting at least a week affecting about 25 million people. Illinois came next even if the wildfire didn't happen within its ground affecting 12 million residents. Other states affected in particular order were Florida, Missouri, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Alabama, Oklahoma and Iowa.
The researchers, however, did not give information on the number of people who experienced health issues because of the wildfire smokes of 2011.
This recent report serves as a reminder to the government to discuss pollution issues related to wildfires. Kinney warned that climate change can further worsen wildfires in the next few years thus putting more Americans at risk.
