{"id":19160,"date":"2026-07-25T12:18:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T07:18:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/?p=19160"},"modified":"2026-07-25T12:18:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T07:18:28","slug":"climate-change-fuels-europes-wildfi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/2026\/07\/25\/climate-change-fuels-europes-wildfi\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Change Fuels Europe’s Wildfires as Toxic Smoke Spreads Across Borders"},"content":{"rendered":"

Climate Change Fuels Europe’s Wildfires as Toxic Smoke Spreads Across Borders<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Climate change is making wildfires more frequent and destructive, with experts warning that the health risks continue long after the flames are extinguished. Toxic smoke from wildfires can travel thousands of kilometres, exposing millions of people to dangerous air pollution far from the fire zones.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jane Burston, CEO of the Clean Air Fund<\/a>, said climate change, wildfires and air pollution form a “vicious circle” that is becoming increasingly difficult to break. She explained that wildfire smoke contains black carbon and other fine particles produced by partially burned vegetation and materials. These microscopic particles can remain airborne for long periods, spreading across countries and continents.<\/p>\n

According to Burston, some of these particles are small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, increasing the risk of asthma attacks in the short term while contributing to serious long-term illnesses such as lung cancer, heart disease, strokes and dementia.<\/p>\n

The warning comes as Europe faces another severe wildfire season. Spain has declared a national emergency, thousands of residents have been evacuated in France, and vast areas of land have been destroyed by fires across Italy as prolonged heatwaves and drought create ideal conditions for fast-moving blazes.<\/p>\n

Burston cited Canada’s unprecedented 2023 wildfire season as a stark reminder of the dangers posed by wildfire smoke. Although the fires eventually subsided, toxic pollution from the smoke was estimated to have contributed to around 82,000 deaths across Canada, the United States and Europe, highlighting the widespread impact of airborne pollutants.<\/p>\n

Recent scientific studies have reinforced these concerns. Research published in The Lancet Planetary Health, covering 32 European countries, found that deaths linked to wildfire smoke may have been underestimated by as much as 93 percent. The study concluded that fine particles produced by wildfires appear to be more harmful than those generated by many other pollution sources.<\/p>\n

Another study by researchers in the United States suggested that global wildfire emissions of hazardous gases could be about 21 percent higher than previous estimates, indicating that the environmental and health impacts of wildfires may be greater than previously understood.<\/p>\n

Burston warned that climate change is creating longer and more intense wildfire seasons by increasing the frequency of heatwaves and prolonged droughts. As temperatures continue to rise, vegetation becomes drier, allowing fires to spread more rapidly and burn over larger areas.<\/p>\n

She stressed that reducing air pollution from fossil fuels is essential to breaking the cycle, as greenhouse gas emissions contribute to global warming, which in turn increases wildfire risks. Wildfires then release even more harmful pollutants into the atmosphere, worsening air quality and climate change.<\/p>\n

To reduce the impact of future wildfires, Burston urged governments to invest in stronger early warning systems, improve air quality monitoring and issue timely public health advice. She also recommended providing clear guidance on when people should remain indoors, use air purifiers or evacuate affected areas to minimize exposure to toxic smoke.<\/p>\n

Experts say tackling climate change and improving air quality policies will be critical to reducing the growing health and environmental risks posed by increasingly severe wildfire seasons.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Climate Change Fuels Europe’s Wildfires as Toxic Smoke Spreads Across Borders Climate change is making wildfires more frequent and destructive, with experts warning that the health risks continue long after the flames are extinguished. Toxic smoke from wildfires can travel thousands of kilometres, exposing millions of people to dangerous air pollution far from the fire […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":19161,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2297,2299],"tags":[3166,3968,2791,3965,3969,3970,3967,3966],"class_list":["post-19160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate-change","category-latest-news","category-world","tag-air-pollution","tag-black-carbon","tag-climate-change","tag-climate-change-europe","tag-environmental-pollution","tag-global-warming","tag-toxic-smoke","tag-wildfires"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19160"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19162,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19160\/revisions\/19162"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}