Wildfires Can Cause Long-Term Health Effects by Mia Jardine

Over the course of the past few months, a lot of major events have occurred. Like the U.S. navy releasing video footage of what they claim to be UFOs (which is absolutely insane- why now?), Kim Jong Un allegedly becoming brain dead, The US almost starting a war with Iran, of course, the global pandemic that has forced most of us to stay home, and the Australian bushfires. All these things will have long-term effects, but one that isn’t widely known is the dangers of wildfire smoke. An article published by BBC covers this. The author includes a U.S. study on juvenile monkeys, where it was found their immune systems were lower than normal even 12 years after being in a wildfire. The effects may have even been passed on to their children. Professor Lisa Miller at the University of California presented the results of a study on wildfires’ impact on children at the American Association of the Advancement of Science meeting in Seattle. Wildfires like the ones in Australia are likely to become more prevalent because of drier conditions according to climate change models. Miller told BBC that she is moving forward with her study because she has enough data on the juvenile monkeys. Her study is based on about 4,000 animals who were exposed to the smoke “from a wildfire in Trinity and Humbolt Counties, 200 miles north of Davis - as was the city's human population” in 2008 at UC Davis's outdoor National Primate Centre. Professor Miller has taken “blood samples and tested their liver function” since the event. The results showed the monkeys had a lowered immune system and “stiffer” lungs. Surprisingly, the side effects were passed down the female monkeys’ offspring. Since the animals were outside at the time of the wildfire, the humans’ health was at less of a risk. Miller ended with telling parents not to panic, but to make sure they keep an eye on their children and if the data shows side effects, to keep children indoors during wildfires. But the fact that being exposed to wildfire smoke, even at a young age, could affect future generations is crazy. Climate change can harm the human population in more ways than one can imagine.

Australian Wildfires

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51313538