Wildfire smoke exposure accounts for an estimated 250 premature deaths in Wisconsin every year, according to a new analysis from Clean Wisconsin. And the trend will likely get worse. The number of days when the air we breathe is polluted by wildfire smoke has risen dramatically over the past 15 years.
- On average between 2010 and 2020, wildfire smoke caused unhealthy air quality in Wisconsin for less than one day per year.
- Since 2020, wildfire smoke has caused unhealthy air in Wisconsin for an average of nine days per year.
One of the most dangerous pollutants in wildfire smoke is fine particulate matter, extremely small particles (about 1/30ththe diameter of human hair) that can penetrate deeply into our lungs and cross into our bloodstream. Beathing in fine particulate matter is associated with a range of severe illnesses including heart and lung diseases, cancer, dementias, blood clots and stroke, and can lead to early death.
Clean Wisconsin Science Program Director Dr. Paul Mathewson, who conducted the analysis, says hazardous smoke in the air we breathe is a tangible consequence of climate change.
“Increasingly smoky skies underscore the importance of a rapid transition to clean energy rather than building more polluting fossil fuel infrastructure that further contributes to climate change,” Mathewson says. “The faster we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and slow climate change, the more summer days we will be able to enjoy outside without worrying about whether the air is safe to breathe.”
The smoke also carries chemicals like nitrogen oxides that can be converted to ground level ozone which also damages people’s lungs and respiratory system.
“This is hurting everybody—our kids on the playground, farmers, construction workers. The public health threat we are all enduring must be a wakeup call,” says Clean Wisconsin Climate, Energy and Air Program Director Chelsea Chandler. “Wisconsin is moving in the wrong direction. Our energy companies are doubling down on burning dangerous fossil fuels to meet soaring AI data center demand, adding to the hazardous air pollution we breathe and damaging our climate. Wisconsinites are paying the price.”
Chandler says Wisconsin must take bolder action to mitigate these harms, including:
- Rapidly shutting down Wisconsin’s remaining coal power plants
- Ending investments in fossil fuel-burning infrastructure like new methane gas plants and oil pipelines
- Drastically increasing funding for programs that help Wisconsinites save energy and money
- Investing in public transit and electric vehicle charging infrastructure
- Supporting large-scale wind and solar development
- Removing barriers to rooftop and community solar
- Incentivizing farming practices that truly store carbon in the soil and restore soil health
”These ideas are not new; in fact, many other states are already taking action. For example, Wisconsin is last in the Midwest when it comes to wind energy production, far behind our neighbors,” Chandler says. “We’ve got to realize that Wisconsin is not an island. No community is safe from the impacts of climate change. The question is, what are we – and our state leaders – doing to help?”
