New seasonal pattern of pollution emerges from changing North American wildfires

Rebecca R. Buchholz (), Mijeong Park, Helen M. Worden (), Wenfu Tang, David P. Edwards, Benjamin Gaubert, Merritt N. Deeter, Thomas Sullivan, Muye Ru, Mian Chin, Robert C. Levy, Bo Zheng and Sheryl Magzamen
Additional contact information
Rebecca R. Buchholz: National Center for Atmospheric Research
Mijeong Park: National Center for Atmospheric Research
Helen M. Worden: National Center for Atmospheric Research
Wenfu Tang: National Center for Atmospheric Research
David P. Edwards: National Center for Atmospheric Research
Benjamin Gaubert: National Center for Atmospheric Research
Merritt N. Deeter: National Center for Atmospheric Research
Thomas Sullivan: University of Colorado
Muye Ru: Columbia University
Mian Chin: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Robert C. Levy: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Bo Zheng: Tsinghua University
Sheryl Magzamen: Colorado State University

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Rising emissions from wildfires over recent decades in the Pacific Northwest are known to counteract the reductions in human-produced aerosol pollution over North America. Since amplified Pacific Northwest wildfires are predicted under accelerating climate change, it is essential to understand both local and transported contributions to air pollution in North America. Here, we find corresponding increases for carbon monoxide emitted from the Pacific Northwest wildfires and observe significant impacts on both local and down-wind air pollution. Between 2002 and 2018, the Pacific Northwest atmospheric carbon monoxide abundance increased in August, while other months showed decreasing carbon monoxide, so modifying the seasonal pattern. These seasonal pattern changes extend over large regions of North America, to the Central USA and Northeast North America regions, indicating that transported wildfire pollution could potentially impact the health of millions of people.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29623-8

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