Volunteers stand in front of a small pocket of fire as wildfires burn near Penteli, Greece, yesterday (Picture: AFP)
Wildfires raging near Athens are putting those nearby at risk of more than just burning.
A long-term study published last month found that millions of people could be increasing their risk of dementia by breathing in pollution spread from wildfires – like the inferno raging near Greece’s capital.
As the climate warms, grass and forest fires are becoming more frequent and severe around the world in hot and dry conditions – and researchers sounded the alarm about what this could mean for our health.
A ten-year study of 1.2 million older adults in California between 2009 and 2019 found wildfire smoke exposure ‘greatly raises’ the risk of dementia, much more than previously realised.
The effect was even worse than breathing air polluted by vehicles and factories, even if there were fewer particles.
Wildfires currently burning across southern Europe (Picture: Nasa)
Greece’s ‘biblical’ wildfires
Extreme heat has hit parts of the Mediterranean and Balkans for a sustained period this summer, with temperatures surpassing 40°C and travel warnings issued.
A fast-moving wildfire fuelled by gale-force winds edged closer and closer to the centre of Athens yesterday, with the sky above the Parthenon lit with an eerie orange glow.
The Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis hill in a smoke cloud from a wildfire, in Athens yesterday (Picture: AFP)
Fires have also burnt in Portugal, Spain, and Italy, while the most severely impacted EU member state was Bulgaria with some 38,000 hectares of land burned so far.
The new research on how lingering smoke particles in the air could affect in longterm was presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference last month.
Lead study author Holly Elser said: ‘Air pollution produced by wildfires now accounts for more than 70% of total PM2.5 exposure on poor air quality days in California. This is a real problem.’
It comes after millions of people in the western US and Canada were placed under air quality alerts as fires forced thousands to evacuate their homes.
Cars burn as a timber warehouse goes up in flames in Gerakas suburb of Athens (Picture: Dimitris Aspiotis/Shutterstock)
Greek firefighters saw a fence to enter a field as they try to extinguish a wildfire near Penteli yesterday (Picture: AFP)
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is what causes the pollution. It is a microscopic mixture of solid and liquid droplets in the air that are 30 times smaller than the width of an average human hair: small enough to be inhaled into the lungs and then move to the bloodstream.
None of the adults in the Alzheimers study had dementia when they were enrolled at the start. Researchers worked out how much pollution they had likely been exposed to, and from which sources, by studying air quality where they lived over the ten-year period.
The study found that the risk from wildfire pollution was more dangerous to brain health than non-wildfire PM2.5, even if the exposure was less.
It was not clear exactly why this may be, but researchers theorised it could be because wildfire PM2.5 are produced at higher temperatures, contain a more concentrated mix of toxic chemicals and, on average, are smaller in diameter than from other sources.
Volunteers line up holding a water hose while putting out a fire in a shop in the Vrilissia suburb of the Greek capital yesterday (Picture: Dimitris Aspiotis/Shutterstock)
A view of a burned out house, following the wildfire in Halandri suburb in Athens, Greece, today (Picture: Reuters)
Claire Sexton, Alzheimer’s Association senior director of scientific programs, said: ‘With the rising global incidence of wildfires, exposure to this type of air pollution is an increasing threat to brain health.
‘These findings underscore the importance of enacting policies to prevent wildfires and investigating better methods to address them.’
High levels of fine particulate matter have also have been shown to raise the risk of heart disease, asthma and low birth weight.
To reduce the risks, people were urged to update their home air filtration systems when possible, stay inside where possible when the air quality is unhealthy, and wear an N95 mask outside when the Air Quality Index reaches 100.
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