Asthma-Associated ER Visits in the U.S. Valley during Wildfire Smoke Decays Between April and August
Nationally, asthma-associated ER visits were 17% higher than normal during 19 days of wildfire smoke that occurred between late April and early August, according to one CDC study that drew data from about 4,000 U.S. hospitals.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published two studies Thursday about the health impacts of the smoke, which shrouded city skylines with an orange haze in late spring. A medical journal also released a study this week.
“I have no doubt that every asthmatic had an uptick in symptoms,” Pristas said. “Some were able to manage it on their own, but some had to call for help.”
The state of New York has a different hospital data bases than the city, so the study focused on the state only, according to the authors.
The third study, published by the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Medicine, focused solely on New York City. It found more than a 50% increase in asthma-associated ER visits on June 7, said the study’s lead author, George Thurston of New York University.
Urban air quality monitors during the Covid-19 wildfires: What happened after Knox bought two Purple Air sensors, and how it affected his asthmatics
The tiny particles in the smoke can cause serious problems for asthmatics if they get deep in the lungs. But problematic as the wildfire smoke was, an analysis showed it had lower amounts of some toxic elements found in urban air pollution, Thurston said.
During the peak of a bad pollen season, the wildfire smoke led to about 10% more ER visits compared to other times of year.
As the smoke got worse in June and the air in his backyard grew thick and “golden,” Acquaviva changed the filters on his air conditioners and stayed indoors for 2 1/2 days.
Knox recently bought two PurpleAir sensors after this summer’s wildfires. He put one in his yard and the other at a family cottage a short distance away. Public health agencies have been consulted about Covid-19. The Canadian wildfires evoked the days of the Covid pandemic, with its own twists. Back then, the guidance for social distancing allowed for outdoor excursions, like going for a walk. For someone like Knox, it was a way to stave off cabin fever and get some fresh air. But when the smoke came, he felt pinned inside without respite.
The new normal will be67531 with all that is going on with climate change and the extremes that everybody is experiencing. “We’re going to have to start living with this.”
Air quality is an important factor in Sentementes and it is important to everyone who breathes. He has three kids, one of whom has asthma. Sentementes himself uses a sleep apnea machine at night. When the sky turned orange and taking a breath felt like sucking in a campfire, Sentementes decided it was time to learn more about how his air quality was changing. He bought a Purple Air sensor that allows him to monitor and share the air quality from outside his house in real time, as well as pooling it with other readings from all over the world, on the internet.
This summer was different. The smoke spread as it lingered longer. It also created quite a stir in areas that aren’t used to being that close to the effects of a cataclysmic wildfire. The world is warming, extreme heat is spawning hellish blazes, and even those not in the immediate vicinity are feeling their effects far downwind. Sentementes felt like this wasn’t just a fluke—something that affected his life every 20 years or so. This felt like something that would likely happen again, and soon.
When smoke from eastern Canadian wildfires smothered much of Canada and the American East Coast this summer, it resurfaced a distant memory for Gus Sentementes. The last time smoke descended on his home in Baltimore, Maryland, was in 2002, when fires in Quebec spread smoke more than 700 miles southward.