Overview
- The World Meteorological Organization published its annual Air Quality and Climate Bulletin on Monday warning that more intense wildfires and heat waves are reversing gains in air quality.
- The report found 2025 PM2.5 concentrations were above long-term averages in northern Canada, parts of Russia and western-central Africa, and that late-summer fires made northwestern Spain a pollution hotspot.
- WMO scientists highlighted that fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ground-level ozone from fires and heat raise risks for lung and heart disease and cause systemic inflammation when inhaled.
- A study cited in the bulletin showed extreme fire-smoke events have tripled since the 1990s and may have contributed to nearly 100,000 extra deaths per year between 2010 and 2018, prompting calls for climate and health action.
- The agency urged expanded monitoring of black carbon, aerosols and microplastics because soot darkens snow and ice to speed melt and because better tracking is needed to design coordinated climate and air-pollution policies.