Wildfire smoke and health impacts: A closer look at fire attributes and their marginal effects

Moeltner, Klaus; Kim, Man-Keun; Zhu, Erqian Julia; Yang, Wei

doi:10.1016/j.jeem.2013.09.004

Cited by 71 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The implications of forest fire activity in the social and economic context in certain geographic regions is enormous [11,12] and some areas will require several years for normality to be restored. In fact, the occurrence and severity of forest fires, as well as their relevant impact on various levels of human life, has become a concern for several stakeholders and policymakers in a variety of global locations [13].…”

Section: Literature Insightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socioeconomic Impacts of Forest Fires upon Portugal: An Analysis for the Agricultural and Forestry Sectors

Martinho

2019

Sustainability

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Recent forest fire activity has resulted in several consequences across different geographic locations where both natural and socioeconomic conditions have promoted a favorable context for what has happened in recent years in a number of countries, including Portugal. As a result, it would be interesting to examine the implications of forest fire activity in terms of the socioeconomic dynamics and performance of the agroforestry sectors in the context of those verified in the Portuguese municipalities. For this purpose, data from Statistics on Portugal was considered for output and employment from the business sector related to agricultural and forestry activities, which were disaggregated at the municipality level, for the period 2008-2015. Data for the burnt area was also considered in order to assess the impact of forest fires. The data was analyzed using econometric models in panel data based on the Keynesian (Kaldor laws) and convergence (conditional approaches) theories. The results from the Keynesian approaches show that there are signs of increasing returns to scale in the Portuguese agroforestry sectors, where the burnt area increased employment growth in agricultural activities and decreased employment in the forestry sector. Forest fires seem to create favorable conditions for agricultural employment in Portuguese municipalities and the inverse occurs for forestry employment. Additionally, some signs of convergence were identified between Portuguese municipalities for agroforestry output and employment, as well for the burnt areas. However, signs of divergence (increasing returns to scale) from the Keynesian models seem to be stronger. On the other hand, the evidence of beta convergence for the burnt areas are stronger than those verified for other variables, showing that the impacts from forest fires are more transversal across the whole country (however not enough to have sigma convergence).Sustainability 2019, 11, 374 2 of 14 modelling, for example, brings new approaches for forest fire assessment, namely because it allows us to link several dimensions related with these multidisciplinary realities [2]. Good assessments of the impacts of forest fires are important contributions to the design of adjusted agroforestry policies, specifically in order to direct support to the most negatively affected activities. Policy instruments and related legislation are determinant tools for reducing the negative impacts of forest fires [3].Indeed, in international terms, agroforestry land inside and outside of Europe continues to burn, in some cases with more severity and frequency, namely due to climate change and global warming. On the other hand, governments and related institutions create (and disclose) more regulations than in the past [4]. Maybe, new approaches are needed, where new technologies may play a determinant role. Multidisciplinary approaches could bring interesting contributions, for instance, economic analysis could transmit valuable insights.These undesirable forest fires have always brought neg...

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Section: Literature Insightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socioeconomic Impacts of Forest Fires upon Portugal: An Analysis for the Agricultural and Forestry Sectors

Martinho

2019

Sustainability

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“…Nearly 80% of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia because the majority of the fire emissions originate from savannas and tropical forests (van der Werf et al 2010), causing recurrent air pollution episodes in these densely populated regions. However, vegetation fire–originated air pollution has also been suggested to cause substantial public health impacts in developed countries (Hänninen et al 2009; Kochi et al 2012; Moeltner et al 2013). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mortality due to Vegetation Fire–Originated PM _2.5 Exposure in Europe—Assessment for the Years 2005 and 2008

Kollanus

Prank

Gens

et al. 2017

Environ Health Perspect

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Background:Vegetation fires can release substantial quantities of fine particles (PM2.5), which are harmful to health. The fire smoke may be transported over long distances and can cause adverse health effects over wide areas.Objective:We aimed to assess annual mortality attributable to short-term exposures to vegetation fire–originated PM2.5 in different regions of Europe.Methods:PM2.5 emissions from vegetation fires in Europe in 2005 and 2008 were evaluated based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite data on fire radiative power. Atmospheric transport of the emissions was modeled using the System for Integrated modeLling of Atmospheric coMposition (SILAM) chemical transport model. Mortality impacts were estimated for 27 European countries based on a) modeled daily PM2.5 concentrations and b) population data, both presented in a 50 × 50 km2 spatial grid; c) an exposure–response function for short-term PM2.5 exposure and daily nonaccidental mortality; and d) country-level data for background mortality risk.Results:In the 27 countries overall, an estimated 1,483 and 1,080 premature deaths were attributable to the vegetation fire–originated PM2.5 in 2005 and 2008, respectively. Estimated impacts were highest in southern and eastern Europe. However, all countries were affected by fire-originated PM2.5, and even the lower concentrations in western and northern Europe contributed substantially (~ 30%) to the overall estimate of attributable mortality.Conclusions:Our assessment suggests that air pollution caused by PM2.5 released from vegetation fires is a notable risk factor for public health in Europe. Moreover, the risk can be expected to increase in the future as climate change proceeds. This factor should be taken into consideration when evaluating the overall health and socioeconomic impacts of these fires.Citation:Kollanus V, Prank M, Gens A, Soares J, Vira J, Kukkonen J, Sofiev M, Salonen RO, Lanki T. 2017. Mortality due to vegetation fire–originated PM2.5 exposure in Europe—assessment for the years 2005 and 2008. Environ Health Perspect 125:30–37; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP194

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“…One method used to quantify contribution of fire to air quality is to define a circle of a given radius around each PM monitor and assume that all fires within the circle have an effect at the monitoring site (Elliott et al, 2013). However, meteorological conditions such as wind speed and direction also need to be taken into account (Preisler et al, 2005;Preisler et al, 2010;Moeltner, 2013) in order to assess contribution from a particular fire. An alternative method is to develop a statistical relationship between surface PM 2.5 concentrations and satellite derived aerosol optical thickness (Wang and Christopher, 2003;Hoff and Christopher, 2009;Zhang et al, 2009;Toth et al, 2014), with satellite imagery being used to determine smoke extent and impacts Yao and Henderson, 2014) and to verify smoke model sensitivity .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A statistical model for determining impact of wildland fires on Particulate Matter (PM2.5) in Central California aided by satellite imagery of smoke

Preisler

Schweizer

Cisneros

et al. 2015

Environmental Pollution

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Wildfire smoke and health impacts: A closer look at fire attributes and their marginal effects

Cited by 71 publications

References 25 publications

Socioeconomic Impacts of Forest Fires upon Portugal: An Analysis for the Agricultural and Forestry Sectors

Socioeconomic Impacts of Forest Fires upon Portugal: An Analysis for the Agricultural and Forestry Sectors

Mortality due to Vegetation Fire–Originated PM _2.5 Exposure in Europe—Assessment for the Years 2005 and 2008

A statistical model for determining impact of wildland fires on Particulate Matter (PM2.5) in Central California aided by satellite imagery of smoke

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Wildfire smoke and health impacts: A closer look at fire attributes and their marginal effects

Cited by 71 publications

References 25 publications

Socioeconomic Impacts of Forest Fires upon Portugal: An Analysis for the Agricultural and Forestry Sectors

Socioeconomic Impacts of Forest Fires upon Portugal: An Analysis for the Agricultural and Forestry Sectors

Mortality due to Vegetation Fire–Originated PM 2.5 Exposure in Europe—Assessment for the Years 2005 and 2008

A statistical model for determining impact of wildland fires on Particulate Matter (PM2.5) in Central California aided by satellite imagery of smoke

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Mortality due to Vegetation Fire–Originated PM _2.5 Exposure in Europe—Assessment for the Years 2005 and 2008