The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has cautioned that wildfires are becoming a leading cause of poorer global air quality. On September 5, the agency released its Air Quality and Climate Bulletin No. 5, which associated massive fire outbreaks, whether in Canada and Siberia or the Amazon or central Africa, with pollution levels rivalling fossil fuel, agriculture, and transport emissions.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that ambient air pollution is already a cause of 4.5 million premature deaths each year. Researchers emphasised that wildfire smoke, with its particulate matter (PM 2.5), is an increasing health hazard with a greater contribution to climate change.
