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Last Update: 08/01/2026 at 12:00 PM EST
Wildfires Drive Record Losses and Smoke
Coverage from The New York Times, The Guardian, and others
Articles
26
Active Days
3149
The Topic
Wildfires are producing increasingly severe consequences even when total burned area is not at a record level, as fires reach densely populated areas and generate widespread smoke. Available estimates link the 2025 fire season to at least $54 billion in global losses, while smoke from fires in North America reversed some U.S. ozone-quality gains and created hazardous conditions across distant regions. Heat, drought, and shifting climate patterns are important contributing factors, but fire outcomes also depend on land use, weather, suppression, and local prevention measures.
First Article: 12/08/17
Latest Article: 07/22/26
Summary
- The 2025 wildfire season produced at least $54 billion in estimated global losses, with Los Angeles-area fires accounting for the largest share.
- Small or moderately sized fires can cause catastrophic losses when they spread through densely populated areas.
- Smoke travels hundreds or thousands of miles, worsening PM2.5 and ozone pollution far beyond active fire zones.
- Wildfire emissions have been associated with a reversal of earlier U.S. surface-ozone improvements since 2015.
- Extreme heat, drought, dry vegetation, and strong winds are repeatedly identified as conditions that intensify fires and smoke.
- Amazon burned acreage fell sharply in 2025 as rainfall increased, but renewed El Niño conditions could raise drought and fire risk again.
- Researchers and risk managers are increasingly tracking fire intensity, spread, smoke, and indirect losses rather than burned area alone.
History
The update sharpens the story with a specific 2025 loss estimate and slightly reframes the analysis from acreage and smoke impacts toward a broader risk model that includes fire intensity, spread, and indirect losses. It also adds a clearer regional smoke example and a more explicit explanation of what drives outcomes.
The story now puts much more emphasis on 2025 as a record-breaking economic damage year, driven by severe fires in densely populated areas like Los Angeles, rather than mainly on smoke and health effects. It also broadens geographically with a new Amazon angle, showing how rainfall can sharply reduce fire activity but climate shifts could quickly raise risk again.
Featured
05-31-2026
Matthew Jones-led researchers estimate record 2025 wildfire losses driven by Los Angeles fires and severe events in South Korea and Spain, using EM-DAT data.
06-04-2026
Researchers published in Science link wildfire smoke since 2015 to rising US surface ozone and health impacts, using satellite and deep-learning analysis due to limited EPA monitoring.
07-22-2026
MapBiomas reports 2025 burned acreage fell in the Brazilian Amazon to 7.7 million acres, after 2024 record highs driven by El Nino drought and La Nina rainfall recovery.
Timeline: 3149 Days
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Additional Articles
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Researchers report that climate-driven burned-area increases from 2006-2020 caused about 15,000 US deaths and $160 billion in costs from wildfire PM2.5 exposure across the United States.
Researchers report that anthropogenic climate change increased US wildfire PM2.5 exposures, causing around 15,000 deaths and $160 billion in costs from 2006 to 2020 across the United States.
Researchers led by Minghao Qiu estimate wildfire smoke mortality and economic damages in the United States under future warming trajectories.
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NASA-funded University of Iowa research reports wildfire-driven surface ozone increases across the Midwest and West since 2015, linked to higher premature death estimates.
Wildfire smoke from northern Minnesota and Ontario during mid-July produced record hazardous PM2.5 levels across multiple Great Lakes states while a humid heat wave increased health risk.
In 2017 California, Climate Central and health researchers documented how climate-amplified wildfires produced smoke waves that spiked PM2.5 pollution and respiratory illness across the Bay Area and Central Valley.
Anneke French reported intense 2019 Canberra wildfire smoke exposure during pregnancy alongside concerns about preterm birth and later child asthma.
Science Advances published April 29 research using satellite and meteorological data to estimate wildfire-derived ground-level ozone caused about 2,045 excess deaths per year across the U.S.
Lightning-sparked wildfires in northern Minnesota are increasing lake water-quality impacts as climate-driven dryness and decades of suppression raise fire severity.
A 2025 wildfire review found below-average burned area but record global insured losses, with catastrophic fires across Canada, the United States, Europe, and South Korea causing evacuations and fatalities.
Cornell University and the Northeast Regional Climate Center estimate up to 424 deaths from a wildfire smoke event affecting the Great Lakes and Northeast, with heat and PM2.5 risks described.
Fertility treatment researchers report wildfire smoke episodes in Portland and Seattle were followed by reduced sperm measures and poorer embryo development outcomes during IVF.
A Nature Reviews Earth & Environment study reported 2025 wildfires burned less area than average but generated record insured losses, driven by exposure and intensity worldwide.
Scientists at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai reported Wednesday that chronic wildfire smoke PM2.5 exposure caused roughly 24,100 annual deaths in the contiguous United States from 2006 to 2020.
A Science Advances study published in 2026 finds that chronic exposure to wildfire smoke PM2.5 caused about 24,100 deaths annually in the contiguous United States from 2006 to 2020.
University of New Mexico scientists report in 2020s western US forests that climate-driven tree mortality and increased fuel aridity raised wildfire energy release and plume intensity.
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Health studies link climate-amplified wildfires to increased wildfire smoke exposure that worsens asthma, cardiovascular outcomes, pregnancy outcomes, and long-term disease risk in the United States, Europe, Canada, and the Arctic.
Nebraska and Iowa wildfire impacts in early 2026 highlight climate-driven increases in fire conditions and PM2.5 health risks.
Wisconsin officials issued air-quality advisories Thursday and warned residents of health risks as smoke from 17 Minnesota wildfires spread into Madison and surrounding areas.
IQAir reported that climate-driven wildfires and dust storms worsened city PM2.5 pollution in 2025, with only 14% of 9,446 cities meeting WHO targets.
Economists and climate scientists warn that repeated Canadian wildfire smoke events in the U.S. are increasing health risk while often remaining unmodeled in climate economics.
University of Chicago AQLI reported on wildfire-driven particulate pollution in 2023 that worsened air quality across Canada and multiple U.S. states.
Researchers report wildfire smoke exposure increasingly correlates with anxiety, PTSD, depression, and other mental health outcomes in the US, with supporting neuroinflammation evidence.