Wildfire Smoke as Top Climate Risk

A Nature study estimates wildfire smoke caused about 41,000 excess U.S. deaths per year from 2011–2020 and could kill 68,000–71,000 annually by 2050 without stronger prevention and health measures. The authors include deaths up to three years after exposure and show smoke harms extend far beyond the West, with drift impacting the Midwest and East Coast. The mechanism is fine particulates that inflame lungs and enter the bloodstream, triggering heart attacks and strokes. — This reframes U.S. climate policy by elevating smoke mitigation (forest management, filtration, alerts) and integrating smoke mortality into climate damage models and health planning.