How Wildfire Smoke Affects Wildlife —and Your Pets

Authorities have urged people across swaths of the Midwest and Northeast to stay indoors as smoke from Canadian wildfires compromises air quality in more than a dozen U.S. states. Inhaling wildfire smoke can lead to health issues ranging from coughing and wheezing to more serious respiratory and cardiovascular problems, particularly for those with underlying conditions—hence why officials have told people in affected areas to avoid going outside if possible, and to wear a good-quality mask if it can’t be avoided. Officials in New York City, where air quality is particularly bad, have even enacted a “work suspension” for carriage horses, citing unsafe conditions. That raises an important point: wildfires pose risks to wildlife as well as humans—and animals often don’t have the luxury of staying indoors, says Olivia Sanderfoot, a postdoctoral fellow who studies the effects of wildfire smoke on wildlife at the La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science at University of California, Los Angeles. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “Animals, just like us, need to breathe,” Sanderfoot says. “If the air that they’re breathing is full of toxic particles, that is going to have an impact on their health.” Just as with humans, animals may experience respiratory distress, inflammation, and poor immune function in smoky conditions, she says. Many plant and animal species have, however, adapted to survive an...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized climate change Explainer extreme weather healthscienceclimate Source Type: news