California and the Global Threat of Wildfires

Ellis Jackson
3 days ago
4 min read

Jonny Rogers reports on the California Wildfires and their global impact on a changing climate.

Photo by: Engin Akyurt

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As of the time of publication, wildfires are spreading across California, taking at least 11 lives and destroying thousands of homes and public buildings. Over 150,000 people have been ordered to evacuate the area.

Wildfires of any scale can be devastating to individuals, communities, and ecosystems alike, but the immediate death toll is only a fraction of the harm they can cause. A recent study published in The Lancet concluded that air pollution from landscape fires is responsible for 1.53 million global deaths each year.

The Impact of Landscape Fires

Examining data from 2000 to 2019, the study concluded that over 90% of the 1.53 million deaths attributable to air pollution from landscape fires occur in low-and middle-income countries, with nearly 40% in sub-Saharan Africa alone. The countries most impacted are India, China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, and Nigeria.

The burning of large quantities of biomass casts pollutants into the atmosphere, including PM2.5 and Ozone (O3), which respectively account for 77.6% and 22.4% of the recorded deaths. The inhalation of these particles interrupts the healthy functioning of the human body, and can cause cardiovascular diseases, respiratory problems, cancer, poor mental health, and even stunted lung development in unborn children and infants.

Those most impacted by air pollution from landscape fires are individuals from lower-income backgrounds, children, and those with pre-existing health issues; people who contribute comparatively little to greenhouse gas emissions. Families with lower incomes are more likely to reside near the sources, or in the path, of fires, live in population-dense areas with existing air pollution issues, and have less access to healthcare systems equipped to respond.

Nevertheless, while certain countries and individuals are disproportionately impacted by landscape fire-related air pollution, it remains a global concern – and will likely become only more severe in time.

Did you know? Globally, 1.53 million deaths can be attributed to “Landscape fire-sourced (LFS) air pollution.”

A Global Problem

The past few years alone have seen wildfires consume millions of acres land across the world, with devastating consequences for public and ecological health. The Canadian wildfires of 2023 saw 15 million hectares destroyed – an area larger than the size of England – emitting quantities of carbon comparable to the world’s largest pollutors. By one estimation, over 3 billion animals were killed or displaced by Australia’s 2019-2020 wildfires.

One study found that between 2017 and 2021, American citizens were exposed to 350% more wildfire smoke on average than between 2011 and 2015, and the current wildfire in California indicates that this is only likely to increase in the coming years and decades.

The increase of wildfires is inextricably linked to climate change. 2024 was the hottest year on record, with the average temperature reaching 1.6C higher than the pre-industrial period and exceeding the key climate threshold of 1.5C, thus causing hotter, drier conditions that leave landscapes and vegetation more susceptible to ignition. Lightning strikes, mismanaged BBQs, and simple electrical faults, now run the risk of decimating entire countries.

Agriculture and Controlled Fires

Although wildfires are often caused by accidents or natural phenomena, perhaps the most significant contributor to deaths from landscape-related air pollution is the intentional use of fire to burn crop residue or clear new land for farming.

As October approaches in India’s northwest regions of Punjab and Haryana, rice farmers ignite their stubble to employ a cheap and quick method of preparing for the next crop. A few weeks later, citizens in Delhi, hundreds of kilometres southeast, are administered to hospital with escalating breathing difficulties, as smoke trails across the country. A child who has never touched a cigarette experiences the effect of smoking 50 a day.

Home to over 33 million people, Delhi is the world’s most polluted capital city, and stubble burning is a significant part of the problem. But this was not the first Autumn that India has experienced such a public health crisis – and they are not alone.

While the use of fire to transform landscapes has been practised before even the Neolithic Revolution, current agricultural and economic demands incentivise the employment of methods that yield short-term gains, often at the cost of long-term sustainability and human health. Indonesia and Malaysia, for example, are responsible for over 85% of the world’s palm oil production; competition, combined with a lack of accountability, encourages producers to employ the ‘slash-and-burn' agricultural method of clearing forests with fire to establish new plantations. The UN estimates that the economic cost of the Indonesian fires is $16 billion.

“Climate change has made the Los Angeles fires more likely despite some statistical uncertainty... This is a carefully researched result that should be taken seriously.” Prof. Gabi Hegerl, University of Edinburgh

Public Impact

Landscape fires are set to pose one of the largest threats to public health this century. In 2019, 99% of the world’s population was breathing poor-quality air, and the increasing global risk of wildfires only bolsters this trend. As The Lancet’s study concludes, “Urgent actions are required to address such substantial health impact and the associated environmental injustice in a warming climate.”

Air currents don’t follow national borders, and fires in one country can cast smoke into neighbouring nations and even other continents: smoke from the 2023 Canadian wildfires reached as far the UK, France, and Scandinavia. As Delhi has shown, millions of citizens in the most polluted areas of the world are dealing with the actions made by comparatively few people hundreds of kilometres away.

In Summary

Competitive global markets that necessitate the employment of unsustainable and harmful agricultural systems in lower-income nations demand renovation. Countries who are disproportionately responsible for climate change have an obligation to assist those who bear the brunt of its consequences. Just as landscape fires are caused by a confluence of global actions, so too do they demand a global response.

Even after the California wildfires are extinguished, the damage to public health is set to continue.