Managing Forest Fire Smoke and Impacts on Health in an Era of Escalating Fire Risk

Dear Colleagues,

The frequency and severity of forest fires is already increasing and is predicted to continue to do so in the foreseeable future. On a global scale, it has been estimated that each year, 340,000 deaths are attributable to forest fire smoke.

Due to climate and type of vegetation in Australia, forest fires occur every year, resulting in large population centres being exposed, making it an important public health problem in Australia and in many countries around the world. Smoke is also emitted during prescribed or planned burning; this is the purposeful application of fire to reduce fuel loads to reduce the risk of forest fires.

The health effects of smoke from forest fires are largely attributable to suspended fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) which affects the respiratory, cardiovascular systems. However, impacts on the immune system and changes to metabolic functions have also been reported.

It is essential to understand the most effective way to manage the health impacts of forest fire smoke exposure. To address this, the Centre for Air pollution, energy and health Research (CAR) will hold a workshop on “Managing Smoke in an Era of Escalating Fire Risk” in Sydney, Australia on 8–9 October 2020. This IJERPH Special Issue is being developed in partnership with the conference, and presenters are invited to publish their papers in this Special Issue.

Dr. Martine Dennekamp
Dr. Fay Johnston
Guest Editors

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