Are wildfires setting us back on air pollution?

WILDFIRES ARE REVERSING THE GAINS made by decades of clean-air standards in Canada and the U.S., according to new data published Aug. 28.

- SIMMONE SHAH

Researchers at the University of Chicago released their annual Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), which tracks air pollution and how it impacts life expectancies. This year's report analyzed data collected in 2023. That year, as Canada faced its worst wildfire season in history, with more than 40 million acres of land burning, the flames caused air-pollution concentrations to rise to levels not seen since the AQLI began recording air-quality data (2011 in the U.S. and 1998 in Canada).