A wildfire can burn through a town in hours. Its smoke can circle the planet in weeks and affect human health long after the fires have been contained.
As global temperatures rise due to human-caused climate change, international disaster risks are fluctuating and leading to increasingly frequent environmental events. Natural disasters and extreme weather conditions can occur anywhere, greatly impacting surrounding environments and communities. These events can cause structural damage within communities, compromise personal health, and generate microscopic airborne pollutants.
According to a 2015 research study, natural disasters can create both direct and indirect sources of airborne pollutants (1). From wildfire smoke and volcanic ash, natural disasters can produce a wide range of airborne pollutants. Long-term exposure to these pollutants can cause elevated health risks, including asthmatic symptoms, respiratory irritation, and cancer.
Indoor air quality can be easily compromised during major floods or dust storms. These natural disasters create pollutant particles that linger for multiple days even after events have concluded, degrading breathing environments (2). Cleanup in the aftermath of natural disasters can also lead to prolonged pollutant exposure through poor indoor air quality conditions.
Extreme weather events and natural disasters can greatly impact air quality levels as airborne pollutants are released through structural damage and environmental conditions.
By understanding the global impacts of natural disasters and risk reduction methods, climate resilience and environmental protection can be reinforced to keep communities and air quality safe.
What kinds of disasters affect air quality, and where?
The type of disaster a community faces depends heavily on geography and so does the pollution it produces.
- Wildfires: The U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe, and Southeast Asia are just of the countries and regions that face wildfire seasons that emit PM2.5, carbon monoxide, and volatile organic compounds. Smoke plumes drift thousands of miles downwind. Canadian wildfire smoke regularly degrades air quality across Europe, while Indonesia's underground peatland fires release dense PM2.5 haze that blankets neighboring countries (3).
- Tornadoes: The Great Plains, Midwest, and Southeast U.S. experience roughly 1,200 tornadoes per year (4). Their winds loft dust and debris into the air, along with asbestos from damaged older buildings and VOCs from ruptured vehicles and chemical storage.
- Hurricanes and tropical storms: These strike the U.S. Gulf Coast and Southeast, as well as coastal regions worldwide. Beyond wind damage, storm surge and prolonged flooding fuel indoor mold growth, while flooded industrial sites and saltwater intrusion add chemical fumes and particulates to the mix.
- Flooding: River flooding across Europe and the U.S. Midwest drives indoor mold and microbial pollution. When floodwater saturates buildings, mold spores linger for days or weeks after the water recedes.
- Volcanic activity: Volcanoes in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim emit ash and sulfur dioxide, degrading both indoor and outdoor air quality. One 2015 study found around 750 active and potentially active volcanoes in Southeast Asia (5).
What types of pollutants occur during extreme weather events?
Natural disasters can produce a variety of airborne pollutants that can be inhaled without being seen or smelled. Tornadoes and flood events often carry invisible, ultrafine particles that penetrate the lungs and impact personal health. Natural disasters can spread a mix of pollutants, including:
- Gas-phase: Chemical fumes, gaseous emissions, insecticides
- Particulates: Wildfire smoke, volcanic ash, mold spores, PM2.5, PM10
Indoor environments and continuous exposure to these pollutants can worsen pre-existing health conditions and symptoms. Depending on the region and the severity of a disaster, some communities could experience unhealthy breathing conditions weeks after the event concludes.
How disasters affect air quality in real communities
Extreme weather events can strain communities and affect regional air quality. Whether by smoke, dust, or chemical leaks, natural disasters can degrade air quality levels across multiple pollutant sources.
In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a 2008 flood event created elevated levels of airborne mold spores and unhealthy breathing conditions during post-flood home renovations (6). Aside from flooding, a 2025 report also notes worsening air quality conditions during overlapping environmental hazards across the United States, such as extreme heat, wildfires, and urban pollution (7).
In Canada, wildfire activity and widespread smoke pollution have been on the rise in recent years, causing poor air quality conditions across North America and beyond. A research study estimates 345 million people within Europe and North America were exposed to ultrafine pollution caused by Canadian wildfires in 2023 (8).
Indonesia is experiencing its most extreme wildfire activity since 2015, battling unhealthy air quality exposure and respiratory illnesses. During the 2026 fire season, over 12.5 million Indonesians were exposed to harmful wildfire haze, a figure expected to grow until the fires are fully extinguished (9). Research suggests climate change may be intensifying El Niño conditions, leading to deeper droughts and greater wildfire risks.
How communities are adapting and building resilience
Some communities are getting ahead of the next disaster. By strengthening infrastructure and planning ahead, communities are protecting both themselves and the air they breathe.
In Japan, newly funded initiatives and building security codes reshaped how new buildings are constructed, requiring them to be tsunami and earthquake resistant (10). With integrated underground tunnel systems and stable architecture, the nation is taking simple steps to ensure structural and environmental protection.
In Canada, a national infrastructure fund established in 2021 is paving a path towards disaster resistant architecture across the country. Shortly after in 2022, Canada published its first National Adaptation Strategy, targeted towards improving disaster resistant architecture and adapting to extreme climate events (11).
Stronger buildings are only part of the solution. Filtered, well-ventilated indoor air keeps people breathing safely through the days and weeks after a disaster passes.
What steps can reduce disaster risks and protect air quality?
Natural disasters can produce a multitude of environmental and health effects in communities, requiring a mixture of resilient infrastructure and climate awareness to keep individuals safe. However, there are actions that can be taken to reduce and prepare for natural disaster risks.
What households and individuals can do
Family households and individuals have the power to protect personal health, spread natural disaster risk awareness, and support community-wide initiatives through resilience-strengthening actions, such as (12):
- Stay informed about local disaster alerts.
- Install outdoor and indoor air quality monitors to track natural disaster-related pollutant activity.
- Limit contact with floodwater during flash floods.
- Keep high-quality face masks handy in the event of wildfire smoke or dust storms.
- Store natural disaster emergency kits at home or an easily accessible location.
- Run air purifiers during air quality events.
- Establish an emergency plan or meeting location for households with multiple individuals.
What governments and community organizations can do
Government officials and community organization members have the power to enact systematic policies, reduce nationwide pollutant activity, and limit natural disaster-related pollution through actions such as:
- Support infrastructure funding and emergency relief programs.
- Enact natural-disaster-related building code policies and architectural standards.
- Provide families and households with emergency supplies for natural hazards, such as KN95/N95/FFP2 masks, flashlights, and sealed water bottles.
- Employ HyperHEPA HVAC-based air purifiers in public spaces.
- Publish natural-disaster-related documents and relief resources on community bulletin boards and online websites.
- Install indoor and outdoor air quality monitors within public spaces to provide real-time data and active pollutant alerts.
- Set up designated emergency shelters and clean air spaces for unsafe or unhealthy natural disasters.
The takeaway
Natural disasters are occurring at increasing rates, with greater environmental change and air quality degradation after each passing climate event. To keep households and communities safe, employing climate resilient designs alongside natural disaster preparation can help secure safe indoor environments.
On October 13, the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction encourages natural disaster awareness and safe breathing spaces through localized action. Established by the United Nations, the day celebrates international disaster reduction efforts and safety education (13).
A disaster's damage doesn't end when the event does. But with preparation and cleaner indoor air, neither does our ability to recover.
