Wildfires likely to have been made more frequent by climate change made significant contributions to air pollution last year, according to a report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Friday.
The World Health Organization says ambient air pollution causes 4.5 million premature deaths a year, and the WMO report for 2024 pointed to pollution hotspots in places that experienced intense fires such as the Amazon basin, Canada, Siberia and central Africa.
Tackling climate change must be a combined effort
As global warming driven mostly by fossil fuel emissions alters weather patterns, wildfires have become more frequent and extensive around the globe, adding to the airborne particles also produced by the burning of coal, oil, gas and wood as well as transport and farming.
"Wildfires are a big contributor to particle pollution and the problem is expected to increase as the climate warms, posing growing risks for infrastructure and ecosystems and human health," the WMO said in a statement.
Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett added: "Climate change and air quality cannot be addressed in isolation. They must be tackled together in order to protect our planet, our communities, and our economies."
Though the WMO report covers 2024, the WMO also said record wildfires in southern Europe this year had contributed to pollution across the continent.
However, there were some positive signs, with particle pollution in Eastern China falling thanks to reduction efforts.