The health effects of wildfire smoke

Worker approaches a blazing wildfire in a forest.

DEOHS wildfire experts are investigating how smoke affects our health and strategies to reduce its impacts

 

DEOHS wildfire smoke experts were featured in a recent webinar hosted by the UW School of Public Health

Wildfires are natural and inevitable in our forestlands. Climate change is making our wildfire seasons longer, hotter and more dangerous.

The UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) has a long history of leading research into the impacts of wildfires on human health.

Through our research and outreach activities, DEOHS faculty and students are building our understanding of how wildfire smoke can damage our health and the best ways to protect people and communities from harm.

Learn about our impact, research and expertise below.

Our impact

Claire Schollaert stands on the UW campus in front of trees and a metal sculpture.

Mitigating the health threats of wildfire smoke

Claire Schollaert, the 2023 DEOHS Outstanding PhD Student, shows how forest management can improve community health by reducing wildfires

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Utility workers in cherry pickers work on electrical power lines.

These four regions of the US are hardest hit by power outages

Prolonged power outages plague regions already facing climate and social vulnerability, new study shows

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A woman looks on as a boy blows into a respiratory monitoring device.

DEOHS collaborations explore child health and socioecological conflict

DEOHS and partners examine “healthy home” solutions in Yakima Valley and ecosystem-health links in Brazil with awards from UW Population Health Initiative

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Photo of downtown Seattle, I-5 and surrounding neighborhoods on a smoky day.

Our most-read stories of 2022 

Global recognition, new faculty and cutting-edge research: counting down our top 10 blog posts of 2022

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Three youth volunteers from Duwamish Valley Youth Corps smile wearing yellow safety vests, two giving a thumbs up, in a Duwamish Valley neighborhood in Seattle.

Empowering youth to seek climate solutions in their communities

DEOHS and Duwamish River Community Coalition join new program engaging Latino and Indigenous youth in community climate impacts

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Collage of two images: on left, wildfire smoke and fire in a Washington forest; on right, five farmworkers harvest lettuce in the heat under a canopy with hats and scarves.

Wildfire smoke and extreme heat projects win population health awards

DEOHS researchers and partners tackle health impacts of smoke and heat with new grants from UW Population Health Initiative

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In the news

Exclusive: documents reveal how NIH will axe climate studies
May 8, 2025 | Nature | Featured: Kristie L. Ebi View

Research Spotlight: The Center for Health and the Global Environment
May 2, 2025 | The Daily | Featured: Jeremy J Hess, Kristie L. Ebi View

Pediatrician shares keys to reducing wildfire smoke exposure
May 1, 2025 | Environmental Factor | Featured: Catherine Karr View

Dementia and air pollution: Is there a link?
March 21, 2025 | Neurology Advisor | Featured: Coralynn Sack View

Listener Picks: The lingering effects of wildfire smoke
February 6, 2025 | WAMU American University Radio | Featured: Joan Casey View