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

A special issue of Fire (ISSN 2571-6255).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 2112

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Diogo Lopes

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Environment and Planning, Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: multi-scale air pollution modelling; integrated assessment modelling; atmospheric emissions; forest fires and wildfire behavior
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Estela Vicente

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Environment and Planning, Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: residential biomass combustion; emissions; particulate matter chemical characterisation; indoor and outdoor air quality; source apportionment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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.

Keywords

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

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

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34 pages, 1278 KB  
Review
Cascading Impacts of Wildfire Emissions on Air Quality, Human Health, and Climate Change Based on Literature Review
by Erekso Hadiwijoyo, Hom Bahadur Rijal and Norhayati Abdullah
Fire 2025, 8(12), 471; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire8120471 - 2 Dec 2025
Viewed by 661
Abstract
Wildfires are a major source of greenhouse gases (GHGs), particulate matter (PM), and atmospheric pollutants, exerting widespread impacts on air quality, human health, and global climate. To address knowledge gaps, this study conducts a literature review of GHG emissions from wildfires across diverse [...] Read more.
Wildfires are a major source of greenhouse gases (GHGs), particulate matter (PM), and atmospheric pollutants, exerting widespread impacts on air quality, human health, and global climate. To address knowledge gaps, this study conducts a literature review of GHG emissions from wildfires across diverse ecosystems and fire regimes. The analysis quantifies emission magnitudes and compositions, evaluates their influence on regional and global climate processes, and synthesizes trends and methodological advances. Results show that the burned area is the main determinant of total emissions, with CO2 as a robust predictor for estimated CO and CH4, reflecting coupled emission behavior under varying combustion conditions. The Modified Combustion Efficiency (MCE) demonstrates a stronger predictive capacity for the CO/CO2 ratio than for CH4/CO2, suggesting that CO/CO2 can be predicted from MCE. Complete combustion dominates most fire events, while incomplete combustion increases the release of CO, CH4, N2O, and PM, contributing to tropospheric ozone formation and enhanced radiative forcing. Exposure to PM2.5 and ozone remains a major health concern in fire-affected regions. This review provides a quantitative synthesis linking combustion efficiency and GHG co-variability, offering insights to refine emission modeling and guide climate mitigation strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of Wildfires on Climate, Air Quality, and Human Health)
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Other

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11 pages, 1719 KB  
Brief Report
Using Air Quality Alerts to Estimate Population-Based Wildfire Smoke Exposure from the 2023 Canadian Wildfire Season
by Carlyn J. Matz, Melissa E. MacDonald, Morgan Mitchell and Celine Audette
Fire 2025, 8(11), 441; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire8110441 - 13 Nov 2025
Viewed by 785
Abstract
Wildfires are a source of air pollution, which impacts air quality in proximity to and at great distances from fires. Wildfire smoke exposure is seasonal and episodic, with exposure levels and durations that can vary considerably. Exposure to wildfire smoke is associated with [...] Read more.
Wildfires are a source of air pollution, which impacts air quality in proximity to and at great distances from fires. Wildfire smoke exposure is seasonal and episodic, with exposure levels and durations that can vary considerably. Exposure to wildfire smoke is associated with numerous health effects, including an increased risk of mortality and exacerbation of respiratory diseases. In Canada, the health risks of wildfire smoke are communicated to the public via air quality (AQ) alerts, when levels of wildfire smoke are currently or are forecasted to be relatively high, posing a risk to the general population. To better understand the population at risk due to wildfire smoke, a population-based exposure metric was developed based on geolocated AQ alerts and population data. This metric, measured in person-days, quantifies the number of people at risk of experiencing adverse health effects of wildfire smoke during a given time period. Data from the 2023 wildfire season were used to evaluate the metric. The greatest numbers of person-days were associated with population centres and regions that experienced periods of prolonged, intense smoke exposure. For example, Toronto, a large population centre, had 12 days with AQ alerts issued, corresponding to 33.5 M person-days. This approach could be expanded to other environmental or extreme weather conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of Wildfires on Climate, Air Quality, and Human Health)
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