Air quality in the Los Angeles region has plummeted due to smoke from the ongoing wildfires. With all that smoke comes possible risks to human health. So what actually is smoke and why is it so harmful? Jessica Gilman, an atmospheric chemist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, explains what smoke is made of, how it behaves in the atmosphere and smoke's role in climate change. Plus, tips for how to lessen your exposure. Check out the CDC's recommendations for avoiding smoke inhalation here. Read more of NPR's coverage of the fires.Questions, story ideas or want us to dig more into the science underpinning natural disasters? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you!Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What is the impact of wildfires on air quality?
And the scope of these wildfires has caused the air quality to plummet. Air quality is monitored through the AQI, a color-coded air quality index. And right now, parts of L.A. are in the orange and red zone, meaning ash, toxins, and superfine particles, the kind that can get lodged in your lungs, are at such unhealthy levels that all people should stay inside.
And even as firefighters work around the clock to contain the blaze, the smoke will stay and drift. worsening the air quality well beyond the fires.
That's one of the interesting things with smoke is that it doesn't stay where it was emitted. It travels with the wind and can impact large parts of the population well downwind of the fires.
Jessica Gilman is an atmospheric chemist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And after wildfires broke out in the American West in 2020, we talked to her about the dangers of inhaling smoke. Any wildfire smoke is toxic. But Lisa Miller, a wildfire smoke expert at the University of California, Davis, has another concern. L.A.
residents right now face an additional risk from all the homes and buildings that have been incinerated.
The man-made materials, so things in cars, things in homes, Think of all the synthetic fibers that are present just in your living room, right? In your couch, in your carpet, maybe even your clothes. All of those things can be particularly toxic.
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Chapter 2: How does wildfire smoke affect human health?
Toxic for everyone. But those particularly at high risk for health complications include pregnant people, kids, and people with pre-existing heart and respiratory health issues, like people with asthma, COPD, and cardiovascular problems.
So today on the show, we revisit the conversation between my former co-host, Maddie Safaya, and Jessica Gilman on the science of wildfire smoke, what it actually is, how it behaves, and how it perpetuates the cycle for more intense wildfires. At the end, for those of you living in the wildfire zone, we'll also give you tips for how to limit your risk of inhaling smoke.
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Chapter 3: What are the components of wildfire smoke?
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I don't know about you, but when I hear the word smoke, it makes me think of like huge thick plumes of different shades of gray sort of blanketing everything, you know, nothing too complicated. For somebody like Jessica, though.
Smoke is an incredibly complex mixture of different gases and particles. And if we look just at the gases, there are hundreds to thousands of different gases that are formed in biomass burning.
biomass. We're talking things like trees and brush that burn up in a wildfire. When it comes to particles in smoke, there's also a huge range from larger ones in the form of ash and dust that can more quickly settle out of the sky.
But you also get really teeny tiny particles on the order of a millionth of a meter in diameter. And those really small particles can stay in the atmosphere for a lot longer.
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Chapter 4: What makes PM2.5 particles particularly dangerous?
Chapter 5: How does smoke travel and affect areas far from the fire?
residents right now face an additional risk from all the homes and buildings that have been incinerated.
The man-made materials, so things in cars, things in homes, Think of all the synthetic fibers that are present just in your living room, right? In your couch, in your carpet, maybe even your clothes. All of those things can be particularly toxic.
Toxic for everyone. But those particularly at high risk for health complications include pregnant people, kids, and people with pre-existing heart and respiratory health issues, like people with asthma, COPD, and cardiovascular problems.
So today on the show, we revisit the conversation between my former co-host, Maddie Safaya, and Jessica Gilman on the science of wildfire smoke, what it actually is, how it behaves, and how it perpetuates the cycle for more intense wildfires. At the end, for those of you living in the wildfire zone, we'll also give you tips for how to limit your risk of inhaling smoke.
You're listening to Shorewave, the science podcast from NPR.
This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies. With WISE, you can send, spend, or receive money across borders, all at a fair exchange rate. No markups or hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit WISE.com. T's and C's apply. Support for NPR and the following message come from the estate of Joan B. Crott.
whose bequest serves as an enduring investment in the future of public radio and seeks to help NPR be the model for high-quality journalism in the 21st century.
I don't know about you, but when I hear the word smoke, it makes me think of like huge thick plumes of different shades of gray sort of blanketing everything, you know, nothing too complicated. For somebody like Jessica, though.
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Chapter 6: What precautions can one take during wildfire season?
Smoke is an incredibly complex mixture of different gases and particles. And if we look just at the gases, there are hundreds to thousands of different gases that are formed in biomass burning.
biomass. We're talking things like trees and brush that burn up in a wildfire. When it comes to particles in smoke, there's also a huge range from larger ones in the form of ash and dust that can more quickly settle out of the sky.
But you also get really teeny tiny particles on the order of a millionth of a meter in diameter. And those really small particles can stay in the atmosphere for a lot longer.
Yeah. And from the particulates side, the thing that people seem to be the most freaked out about is this PM 2.5, or the little particles that are super, super small. Yeah. And there seems to be a lot of that going on right now in California and large parts of the West, right? Yeah.
Yeah, so one of the primary hazardous air pollutants is particles that are called PM2.5s that has an overall diameter of two and a half micrometers or less. And that's roughly about 50 times smaller than a single grain of salt. So really, really small particles.
The smaller particles, not only can they travel further distances, but they also have this unique ability to follow the sort of micro air currents and can bend around corners and edges and everything. And that means that if you're breathing in smoke, those larger particles are going to hit the back of your throat first.
But the smaller particles can actually make it all the way down your throat and then deep into your lungs. And that's where they start to cause all kinds of different health effects.
One of the most interesting things about smoke is how it behaves, how it interacts with the different layers of our atmosphere, including the layer closest to us called the boundary layer. And how big that layer is, how thick it is, depends on temperature. So at night, when it's cooler, that layer condenses and comes back down in altitude.
Also, with cooler temps and higher humidity at night, wildfires tend to die down.
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