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Forest fires in the Amazon, Canada and Siberia release a “toxic mixture” of pollutants that can eventually deteriorate air quality thousands of kilometers away. The warning was made on Friday (5/9) by the World Meteorological Organization (OMM), in its fifth Annual Bulletin on Air Quality and Climate.
“Climate change and air pollution do not respect national borders, as shown in intense heat and drought that feed forest fires and degrade the air quality of millions of people,” said Ko Barrett, the organization’s assistant secretary.
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“The forest fires season tends to be more severe and longer each year due to climate change,” added Lorenzo Labrador, chief scientist of the World Meteorological Organization and editor of the bulletin.
OMM analyzed the interaction between air quality and climate, with emphasis on the role of microscopic particles known as aerosols in these fires, the formation of winter fogs, maritime transport emissions and urban pollution.
Particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers (PM 2.5) are considered harmful as they penetrate deeply in the lungs or cardiovascular system. The 2024 forest fires caused PM levels 2.5 above average in Canada, Siberia and Central Africa, according to the WMO.
But the biggest increase was recorded in the Amazon basin. The particles traveled long distances, affecting air quality in cities such as Sao Paulo, Santiago (Chile) and even regions of Ecuador.
Consequences on other continents
Forest fires in Canada eventually caused air pollution in Europe. “This was the case last year and this year. There is a degradation of air quality between continents when the weather conditions align,” said Labrador at a press conference.
“These fires have essentially produced a toxic mixture of air -polluting components,” he said. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), ambient air pollution is responsible for over 4.5 million premature deaths around the world, with significant environmental and economic costs.
OMM has requested improvements in more effective monitoring and policies to protect human and environmental health, as well as reduce agricultural and economic losses in general.
The bulletin also highlights critical points of pollution in northern India. The Indo-Gangetic plain, which houses more than 900 million people, showed a sharp increase in air pollution, caused mainly by burning agricultural biomass, which led to the increase in the number and duration of winter fog episodes.
“The persistence of fog is no longer just a seasonal weather event: it is a symptom of the growing impact of human activities on the environment,” according to the world weather organization.
Improvements in China
When countries act to combat poor air quality, improvement is clearly visible in weather data, said Paulo Laj, responsible for the global atmosphere in the organization. “See Europe, Shanghai, Beijing, cities in the United States. Many cities have taken action and there is a strong reduction in registered air pollution in the long run, he said.
PM levels 2.5 continued to decrease in eastern China last year, which WMO attributes to consistent policies. “In a period of 10 years, Chinese cities have greatly improved their air quality. What they got is really impressive,” he noted.
According to him, there are no universal measures that can cause a radical change, such as the adoption of electric cars, “but when measurements are taken, they work.”
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