How did the Australian bushfires affect the air quality?

Due to the fires, parts of Australia recorded the worst-ever air quality to date, with PM2. 5 levels reaching nearly 400µg/m3 in parts of Sydney, this level of pollution is described by the World Health Organisation as hazardous, meaning that everyone may experience serious health effects.

What was the impact of the 2019 Australian bushfires?

However, economists estimated that the Australian bushfires may cost over A$103 billion in property damage and economic losses, making the bushfires Australia’s costliest natural disaster to date. Nearly 80 percent of Australians were affected either directly or indirectly by the bushfires.

How is air quality affected by wildfires?

Smoke isn’t your ordinary air pollution. Fine particles from wildfire smoke led to 10 percent more respiratory hospitalizations than there would be without the smoke, the study found. Pollution from other sources, while still harmful, increased hospitalizations by just around 1 percent.

What are the effects of Australian bushfires?

The most devastating impact on humans is that bushfires have killed over 800 people since 1851. In addition to loss of life, homes, properties, and livestock are destroyed potentially leaving people homeless, traumatized, and without access to electricity, telecommunications and, in some cases, to drinking water.

Do bushfires cause air pollution?

Although all air pollutants from bushfire smoke have the potential to affect health, there is good evidence that PM2. 5 is the air pollutant of greatest concern. This is because it is present in high concentrations in smoke and because there is very strong evidence of its health effects.

Do bushfires cause pollution?

As expected, air pollution levels were higher during bushfires periods, in terms of total suspended particles and fine particles (“PM10”, which are particles 10 microns or less in size).

What are the negative effects of bushfires?

The effects of smoke exposure and inhalation range from eye and respiratory tract irritation to more serious disorders, including reduced lung function, bronchitis, exacerbated asthma and premature death. Exposure to particulate matter is the main public health threat from short-term exposure to wildfire smoke.

What are the negative effects of fire?

Negative effects of fire

• burn and damage vegetation communities, such as rainforest that take hundreds of years to recover.
• kill or injure individual plants or animals.
• cause erosion and subsequent sedimentation of creeks and wetlands.

Do wildfires cause air pollution?

Research published last January in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that, during a large fire event, wildfire smoke can account for 25 percent of dangerous air pollution in the U.S.

What are the effects of wildfires?

Wildfires can disrupt transportation, communications, power and gas services, and water supply. They also lead to a deterioration of the air quality, and loss of property, crops, resources, animals and people.

Is bushfire smoke bad for the environment?

These gases can be toxic to the environment and human health. While there’s no safe level of air pollution, bushfire smoke is particularly hazardous because of the presence of tiny particles, or particulate matter (PM).

What pollutants are in bushfire smoke?

Bushfire smoke resulted in more than 400 excess deaths during the devastating 2019-2020 bushfires. Recently, the focus of air quality and health research has shifted to very fine particles: “PM2. 5”. These are particles 2.5 microns or smaller that can penetrate deep into our lungs.

How bad was the 2019-20 Australian bushfire season?

However, the 2019-20 Australian bushfire season was unusually intense and soon became the worst bushfire season that Australia had ever recorded.

What is the economic impact of the bushfires in Australia?

These fires came at a huge environmental, social and economic cost to Australia. It is estimated that the economic fallout from these bushfires could be as high as $5 billion (Dangar, 2020). Fire is known as one of the most destructive elements seen in nature.

How has global warming influenced the 2019-20 Australian bushfires?

Another way in which global warming has influenced the 2019-20 Australian bushfires is through droughts caused by two modes of tropical variability: the Indian Ocean Dipole and El Niño Southern Oscillation events (Wang & Cai, 2020).

How much will the number of bushfires increase by 2020?

The analysis by the Bushfire CRC, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research found that the number of “very high” fire danger days generally increases 2–13\% by 2020 for the low scenarios (global increase by 0.4 °C (0.72 °F)) and 10–30\% for the high scenarios (global increase by 1.0 °C (1.8 °F)).