Wildfire season is supposed to have an early autumn ending. But increasingly, that timeline extends, as wildfire season is becoming longer and more severe due to the impacts of climate change.
Despite already being in late September, the traditional end of wildfire season in much of the Northern Hemisphere, communities may still be dealing with active fires, hazardous smoke and weeks of accumulated exposure. In 2026, that reality is already visible across continents. Europe had already surpassed 600,000 hectares burned, making 2026 its third-worst wildfire season on record. Canada has recorded around 5,000 wildfires and over 4 million hectares burned so far this year. In Indonesia, at least 285,000 hectares had burned as fires sent hazardous haze across national borders into Malaysia and Brunei.
The question we should be asking is no longer simply about how we prevent and fight wildfires. It is: How do we protect public health from the widespread, toxic smoke they produce?
That distinction matters. Wildfire smoke is no longer an occasional side effect of a natural disaster. It is becoming a recurring, large-scale source of air pollution that can affect millions of people far from the flames, and public health systems need to be able to immediately respond to protect human health.
The Fire May Be Local. The Smoke Is Not.
Wildfires have traditionally been treated as a geographic emergency: a fire threatens a community, authorities issue evacuation orders, firefighters respond and residents return when the flames are gone.
Smoke does not follow that model.
Wildfire smoke can travel hundreds or thousands of kilometers, crossing cities, regions and national borders. The World Health Organization now explicitly identifies wildfire smoke as a severe global health burden and says the public health sector has a key role in prevention, preparedness and response.
The 2023 Canadian wildfire season provides perhaps the clearest illustration. Canada’s fires burned approximately 15 million hectares, more than seven times the average over the previous forty years. Researchers found that 354 million people in North America and Europe were exposed to at least one day when Canadian wildfire smoke pushed PM2.5 above the WHO’s 24-hour guideline. An estimated 5,400 acute deaths and 64,300 chronic deaths in North America and Europe were attributable to that smoke exposure. Globally, the researchers estimated approximately 82,100 premature deaths associated with chronic exposure to smoke from those Canadian fires alone.
That is not simply a wildfire problem. It is an air pollution problem and a public health crisis.
Smoke Needs the Same Response as Any Other Health Hazard
The primary public health threat from wildfire smoke is fine particulate matter, or PM2.5. These particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, contributing to respiratory and cardiovascular health effects. Smoke exposure can worsen asthma, increase respiratory symptoms and contribute to hospital admissions and premature death. Children, older adults, pregnant people and those with existing health conditions are particularly vulnerable.
Yet preparedness often remains heavily focused on the fire itself: evacuation routes, defensible space, fuel reduction, firefighting capacity and emergency response.
While the fire itself is important and needs to be contained, that response does not address the human health crisis. How do we protect human health when the fire is hundreds of miles away and the air is still unhealthy?
A modern wildfire smoke strategy should include:
- Continuous air quality monitoring
- Smoke forecasting
- Public alerts
- Clean air shelters and buildings
- Filtration standards
- Healthcare preparedness
- Workplace protections and
- Clear guidance for schools, businesses, and vulnerable populations
This is especially important because smoke exposure is not limited to people who live in wildfire prone areas. The 2023 Canadian fires increased annual PM2.5 exposure not only in Canada and the United States, but also in Europe. Researchers found that 90% of Europe’s population—approximately 620 million people—experienced some increase in annual PM2.5 exposure from those fires. Earlier this summer in July 2026, smoke from wildfires in Canada blanketed several major U.S. cities, causing them to experience hazardous air quality for days despite being hundreds of miles away from the flames.
Climate Change Is Increasing the Risk and Exposure
Climate change is making wildfire smoke more difficult to address as an occasional emergency.
The WHO says wildfires are increasing globally in frequency and severity, with fire season beginning earlier and ending later as warmer temperatures, drought, and changing weather patterns alter fire conditions. It estimates that extreme wildfires could become up to 50% more frequent by the end of the century.
The consequences are already measurable.
In Canada, a 2026 health impact analysis found that more than 80% of the population experienced an average seasonal wildfire PM2.5 exposure of at least 1 microgram per cubic meter over the 2013–2023 period. Researchers estimated approximately 1,900 premature deaths and US$18 billion annual economic health burden associated with that long-term exposure.
Meanwhile, IQAir’s 2025 World Air Quality Report found that only 14% of global cities met the WHO annual PM2.5 guideline, down from 17% the previous year. Wildfires are only one source of pollution, but they are increasingly capable of overwhelming normal air quality conditions and reversing progress in regions that might otherwise be improving in air quality.
We Need to Make Smoke Preparedness Permanent
Governments and public health agencies should treat wildfire smoke as a predictable, recurring environmental health hazard, one that deserves permanent infrastructure rather than temporary emergency measures.
That means:
- Establishing dense, reliable air quality monitoring networks
- Integrating smoke forecasts into public health warning systems
- Creating clean air spaces before smoke arrives
- Ensuring schools, hospitals, and workplaces can maintain healthy indoor air
- Making clear, localized health guidance available before exposure reaches dangerous levels
It also means recognizing that the people most affected by wildfire smoke may not be those closest to the fire. Communities with older housing, limited access to air conditioning or filtration, outdoor workers, children, and people who cannot afford to relocate or create cleaner indoor environments can face a disproportionate burden.
We should continue investing in forest management, fire prevention, resilient infrastructure and climate mitigation. But those efforts must be paired with something equally important: smoke preparedness.
Because the defining public health challenge of the next wildfire era may not be how many acres burn. It may be how many people breathe the smoke.
Wildfire smoke is becoming a structural public health issue. Our collective response needs to be structural as well.
