Climate-fueled wildfires are increasing pollution in Canada and beyond—a bellwether for other regions?

In 2023, Canada experienced its worst wildfire season in the country’s history. As wildfire smoke spread throughout the region, it led to the highest particulate pollution levels in Canada in at least 26 years, contributing to a 35 percent increase in pollution over the decade. And, it had a significant impact on health. Those living in the most impacted regions breathed air comparable to the most polluted parts of Latin America—pollution that could cut lives short by more than 2 years if sustained.

The 2023 threat in Canada, which also contributed to high levels of pollution in the United States, is evidence of a growing trend. While Canada has experienced the greatest increase in wildfires of any country over the last decade and is experiencing its second-worst wildfire season this summer, the country is not alone. Parts of Southern Europe and the Middle East are this year experiencing their worst season on record—from Turkey and Syria to Portugal, Spain and Greece. Greece, for example, is among the top ten countries to see the greatest increase in wildfires, and saw its pollution increase by about 16 percent over ten years.

The new wildfire pollution is evidence that even with strict air quality standards and decades of strong enforcement, some countries cannot escape the ghost of fossil fuels past that are driving climate change. At the same time, other countries are confronting both the fossil fuels emitted today and the ghost of fossil fuels past as industrial/vehicle and wildfire pollution grow at the same time. This double whammy is evident in countries like Bolivia and Laos—countries that are among the top ten to see increasing wildfires and a 36 percent and 10 percent increase in pollution, respectively, over ten years.

The increase in pollution in these countries could be an indicator of what is to come in countries around the world that are in the midst of, or have spent decades, cleaning up their air only to have to contend with the impacts of fossil fuel-driven climate change. Evidence of a link between climate change, wildfire smoke, and rising particulate pollution has been increasing over the past two decades. Globally, forest fires now burn more than twice as much tree cover each year as they did two decades ago, while climate change has increased the likelihood of these wildfires and fueled them to be more frequent and intense. At the same time, there is evidence that wildfire smoke has eroded air quality progress.