The Impact of Wildfires on Climate, Air Quality, and Human Health

Dear Colleagues,

Wildfires are becoming increasingly frequent and intense, driven in part by climate change and altered land-use patterns. These events not only cause immediate ecological and economic damage but also have profound implications for climate systems, air quality, and human health. Wildfires emit large quantities of pollutants, including particulate matter and reactive gases, which can undergo complex atmospheric transformations. These emissions impact climate processes, degrade air quality, and are associated with both acute and chronic health effects in exposed populations.

Despite growing research efforts, critical knowledge gaps remain in understanding the role of wildfires in atmospheric and climatic systems. There is a pressing need to better quantify emission profiles under diverse fuel types and fire regimes, to characterize the chemical transformation and aging of smoke in the atmosphere, and to assess the resulting impacts on air quality and climate forcing. In addition, high-resolution measurements and advanced numerical modelling are essential to constrain wildfire emission inventories, simulate long-range transport, and evaluate exposure and health risks. Bridging these gaps requires integrated observational and modelling approaches that link emissions, atmospheric processing, climate interactions, and health outcomes across scales.

This Special Issue seeks to bring together multidisciplinary research exploring the complex and interrelated impacts of wildfires on climate, air quality, and human health. We welcome original research articles, case studies, and comprehensive reviews addressing, but not limited to, the following topics:

• Wildfire emissions and their variability across fuel types and combustion stages;
• Atmospheric chemistry, transformation, and aging of wildfire smoke;
• Numerical modelling of smoke transport, and climate interactions;
• Health impacts of exposure to wildfire smoke;
• Toxicological assessment of wildfire human exposure;
• Feedback mechanisms between wildfires and climate systems;
• Advances in air quality monitoring and exposure assessment related to wildfires.

By advancing our understanding of the broad and interconnected impacts of wildfires, this Special Issue seeks to support the development of informed mitigation, adaptation, and public health strategies.

Dr. Diogo Lopes
Dr. Estela Vicente
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fire is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• wildfires
• climate change
• air quality
• health impact
• atmospheric emissions
• smoke plumes
• pollution