Air pollution is the largest single environmental risk to human health in Europe. With climate change, increasing temperatures and more wildfires, the health impact of air pollution may be amplified.
What are the links and connections between heat stress, air pollution, wildfires, health and climate change?
Alexandra Valta is a math teacher in Athens. Her family has a summer house in Mati, a coastal village less than one hour drive north of Athens. Two years ago a terrible wildfire hit the area.
“It was a Monday, a very nice day, and also really hot. We started to see smoke and I called my husband who was on his way. He said he could see fire and smoke. The electricity was cut. We saw the fire on the mountain, it was so close to the houses! My husband came in the car, and we ran away as fast as we could in the car.”
The summer house is surrounded by trees and would have burnt down immediately if the fire came near enough.
“We came to Nea Makri, and it was not until we watched TV the same night that we understood that people were injured and had died”, Alexandra explains.
The wildfire in Mati, July 2018. Photo: Alexandra Valta
“Many things went wrong. The fire was descending a steep mountain that made it difficult to see the actual size of it”, says Alexandra.
More than 100 people died in the fire and many more were injured.
Long term effects
Research shows that the negative health consequences of wildfires goes beyond direct fatalities, as a result of inhalation of toxic gases (1). Smoke from wildfires leads to high levels of the health damaging fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution (2). The exposure increases heart and lung diseases (such as heart attack, brain stoke, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)). This leads to more hospitalizations and increased pressure on the health system. Certain segments of the population may be particularly vulnerable to smoke-related health risks. Among them are people with pre-existing problems with heart and lung diseases, the elderly, smokers and, for professional reasons, firefighters.
Are you aware of any long-term health effects of the fire for the people that were in the area and survived the fire?
“No, I’m not aware of this, and I have not seen it being discussed. But for a long time there was this bad smell in the area where it had burnt”, says Alexandra.
Climate change and air pollution
Because of human activities such as transport, agriculture and energy use, we pump pollutants (such as gases and particulate matter) and greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) into the air.
On one hand these emissions build up in the atmosphere causing climate change acting much like a blanket trapping heat, on the other hand they pollute the air we breathe making air pollution the single largest environmental health risk in Europe. Air pollution causes up to 800,000 deaths a year in Europe and 8.8 million worldwide (3).
“Ultimately, to reduce the harmful effects of climate change on health, we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ”
Heat stress
Also heat stress has an effect on our hearts and lungs. Climate change leads to increasing temperatures and stronger heat waves. This leads to heat stress that poses a risk to human health.
City planning, including increasing green and blue space, plays an important role with regards to the possibility to reduce heat stress. During heat waves, green areas, parks and areas close to water bodies are less hot than paved areas.
Increasing temperatures and heat waves can increase the concentrations of air pollutants, particularly ground-level ozone (O3), but also fine particulate matter (PM2.5), increasing the impact on our health.
Ultimately to reduce the harmful effects of climate change on health, we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
1.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5287684_Health_Impacts_of_Fire_Smoke_Inhalation
2. Kollanus V, Prank M, Gens A, Soares J, Vira J, Kukkonen J, et al. Mortality due to Vegetation Fire-Originated PM2.5 Exposure in Europe-Assessment for the Years 2005 and 2008. Environ Health Perspect 2017; 125: 30-37.
3. EEA 2020 The European environment — state and outlook 2020 Knowledge for transition to a sustainable Europe. Reports 400,000 premature deaths (page 201). European Heart Journal by Lelieveld et al reporting close to 800,000 premature deaths https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/Air-pollution-causes-800-000-extra-deaths-a-year-in-Europe-and-8-8-million-worldwide.
