The health effects of wildfire smoke

Worker approaches a blazing wildfire in a forest.

DEOHS wildfire experts are investigating how smoke affects our health and strategies to reduce its impacts

 

DEOHS wildfire smoke experts were featured in a recent webinar hosted by the UW School of Public Health

Wildfires are natural and inevitable in our forestlands. Climate change is making our wildfire seasons longer, hotter and more dangerous.

The UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) has a long history of leading research into the impacts of wildfires on human health.

Through our research and outreach activities, DEOHS faculty and students are building our understanding of how wildfire smoke can damage our health and the best ways to protect people and communities from harm.

Learn about our impact, research and expertise below.

Our impact

Utility workers in cherry pickers work on electrical power lines.

These four regions of the US are hardest hit by power outages

Prolonged power outages plague regions already facing climate and social vulnerability, new study shows

LEARN MORE
A woman looks on as a boy blows into a respiratory monitoring device.

DEOHS collaborations explore child health and socioecological conflict

DEOHS and partners examine “healthy home” solutions in Yakima Valley and ecosystem-health links in Brazil with awards from UW Population Health Initiative

LEARN MORE
Photo of downtown Seattle, I-5 and surrounding neighborhoods on a smoky day.

Our most-read stories of 2022 

Global recognition, new faculty and cutting-edge research: counting down our top 10 blog posts of 2022

LEARN MORE
Three youth volunteers from Duwamish Valley Youth Corps smile wearing yellow safety vests, two giving a thumbs up, in a Duwamish Valley neighborhood in Seattle.

Empowering youth to seek climate solutions in their communities

DEOHS and Duwamish River Community Coalition join new program engaging Latino and Indigenous youth in community climate impacts

LEARN MORE
Collage of two images: on left, wildfire smoke and fire in a Washington forest; on right, five farmworkers harvest lettuce in the heat under a canopy with hats and scarves.

Wildfire smoke and extreme heat projects win population health awards

DEOHS researchers and partners tackle health impacts of smoke and heat with new grants from UW Population Health Initiative

LEARN MORE
A table of seven farmworkers and a child sit in the foreground having a discussion, with other tables of people in the background.

Supporting farmworker families through smoke season

Our PNASH Center and Wenatchee CAFÉ host community events to understand the concerns of farmworker parents

LEARN MORE

In the news

Dementia and air pollution: Is there a link?
March 21, 2025 | Neurology Advisor | Featured: Coralynn Sack View

Listener Picks: The lingering effects of wildfire smoke
February 6, 2025 | WAMU American University Radio | Featured: Joan Casey View

Salt Lake's rising air pollution threat: Wildfire smoke and dementia
February 6, 2025 | Axios | Featured: Joan Casey View

New research shows poor air quality could cause dementia
January 29, 2025 | KCBS Radio | Featured: Joan Casey View

The L.A. fires are contained, but the harm to people’s brains may linger
January 29, 2025 | The Washington Post | Featured: Joan Casey View