‘I couldn’t breathe’: the deadly health burden of wildfire smoke
Scientists race to untangle complex links between exposure and mortality as fire weather grows more prevalent A thousand kilometres from the infernos gorging on northern Ontario’s boreal forests, Erin O’Connor watched the sky above Canada’s biggest city turn an “almost post-apocalyptic” orange as it filled with light-scattering particles of soot and ash. Stepping outside the halls of Toronto…
The deadly health burden of wildfire smoke has become a pressing concern as scientists grapple with the complex links between exposure and mortality. Far from the infernos ravaging northern Ontario’s boreal forests, Erin O’Connor found herself confronting the aftermath in the heart of Canada’s largest city, Toronto. The city’s skyline, a canvas of orange, bore the brunt of the smoke that had drifted in from the raging fires.
Stepping outside Toronto General Hospital, where air filters were diligently shielding patients from the worst of the pollutants, O’Connor was struck by a scent so potent it felt akin to standing near a campfire. "It really hit you in the face as soon as you walked outside," she recounted. As a medical professional overseeing the hospital’s emergency department, O’Connor observed a surge in patients seeking help for allergy symptoms and shortness of breath.
"As the days progressed, it was like that everywhere. It seemed even inside you could smell that burning." The situation was not limited to outdoor exposure, as the pervasive presence of the smoke seemed to permeate indoor spaces as well.
Written by urgent.news from Guardian Health's reporting — not their text. Machine-written; read the original for the full account.
Also reported by 1 other outlet
- ‘I couldn’t breathe’: the deadly health burden of wildfire smoke theguardian.com
