Podcasts · The Land & Climate Podcast
Have wildfires become a major public health risk?
· 17 min
Episode Have wildfires become a major public health risk?
Bertie speaks with Mark Parrington about this year’s record-breaking wildfires, and the health implications of increasing air pollution.
Mark is a senior scientist at the EU’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, where he uses satellite imagery to monitor wildfire emissions in real-time.
He tells Bertie about the scale of the recent surge in wildfires across Europe, North America, and the Arctic, and the health impacts of particulate matter and long-range pollution transport. They also discuss the climate implications as wildfires – especially in Arctic peatlands - release millions of tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Further reading:
• Arctic Climate Change Update 2024: Key Trends and Impacts, AMAP , 2024 • State of Wildfires 2023-2024, Earth System Science Data, 2024 • 'Global, regional, and national mortality burden attributable to air pollution from landscape fires: a health impact assessment study', The Lancet, 2024 • 'EU wildfires worst on record as burning season continues', The Guardian, 2025 • 'Why are Europe and the Arctic heating up faster than the rest of the world?' Copernicus, 2025 • 'Current wildfire situation in Europe', The Joint Research Centre: EU Science Hub, 2025
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Links in the notes 8
- https://www.amap.no/documents/doc/amap-arctic-climate-change-update-2024-key-trends-and-impacts/3851
- https://essd.copernicus.org/articles/16/3601/2024/essd-16-3601-2024.html
- https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)02251-7/abstract
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/22/eu-wildfires-worst-year-on-record-as-season-continues
- https://climate.copernicus.eu/why-are-europe-and-arctic-heating-faster-rest-world
- https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/projects-and-activities/natural-and-man-made-hazards/fires/current-wildfire-situation-europe_en
- https://www.buzzsprout.com/1695859/fan_mail/new
- https://www.landclimate.org/
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