Dear MEL Topic Readers,
The far-reaching impacts of wildfire smoke – and how to protect
yourself
When we breathe fresh and clean air, we feel good. In fact, the air we
breathe has significant effects on our physical and mental health. People who
live in communities whose air quality is worse than other places often show poorer
performance in school, higher crime rates, and impaired judgment. Also, their body
metabolism seems to be affected by air pollution and they have a higher number
of obesities. Despite the efforts having been made to reduce air pollution, the
world has been exposed to unhealthier air recently partly due to wildfires. Wildfires
can be caused by lighting, human activities, and extreme weather conditions.
Because of global warming, wildfires have become more frequent and widespread. Wildfires
release a large amount of mercury, PM2.5, particulate matter that is much
smaller than the width of human hair to the air, and other toxins into the air,
which are harmful to certain immune cells in the lungs. We’ve been tackling the
direct causes of air pollution but now we need to work harder on curbing global
warming even harder for our health.
Read the article and learn about what wildfires do to our mental and
physical health.
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