Have wildfires become a major public health risk?

Bertie speaks with Mark Parrington about this year’s record-breaking wildfires, and the health implications of increasing air pollution.  

Mark is a senior scientist at the EU’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, where he uses satellite imagery to monitor wildfire emissions in real-time.  

He tells Bertie about the scale of the recent surge in wildfires across Europe, North America, and the Arctic, and the health impacts of particulate matter and long-range pollution transport. They also discuss the climate implications as wildfires – especially in Arctic peatlands - release millions of tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.  

Further reading:  

• Arctic Climate Change Update 2024: Key Trends and Impacts, AMAP , 2024 
• State of Wildfires 2023-2024, Earth System Science Data, 2024 
• 'Global, regional, and national mortality burden attributable to air pollution from landscape fires: a health impact assessment study', The Lancet, 2024 
•  'EU wildfires worst on record as burning season continues', The Guardian, 2025
•  'Why are Europe and the Arctic heating up faster than the rest of the world?' Copernicus, 2025  
• 'Current wildfire situation in Europe', The Joint Research Centre: EU Science Hub, 2025 

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