The health effects of wildfire smoke

Worker approaches a blazing wildfire in a forest.

DEOHS wildfire experts are investigating how smoke affects our health and strategies to reduce its impacts

 

DEOHS wildfire smoke experts were featured in a recent webinar hosted by the UW School of Public Health

Wildfires are natural and inevitable in our forestlands. Climate change is making our wildfire seasons longer, hotter and more dangerous.

The UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) has a long history of leading research into the impacts of wildfires on human health.

Through our research and outreach activities, DEOHS faculty and students are building our understanding of how wildfire smoke can damage our health and the best ways to protect people and communities from harm.

Learn about our impact, research and expertise below.

Our impact

The Seattle skyline with hazy skies because of wildfire smoke. In the foreground of the image a person walks along an elevated walkway with a highway below.

Wildfire smoke linked to increased odds of preterm birth

DEOHS-led study shows pregnant people exposed to wildfire smoke are more likely to give birth prematurely

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Smoky skies turn the Portland skyline hazy and orange-hued. A person with a backpack walks in the foreground of the image.

Wildfire smoke may reduce sperm quality

DEOHS faculty member Tristan Nicholson and collaborators show that wildfires may affect fertility

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Three people stand around a research poster smiling. The poster title is, "Involving Communities in Overcoming Barriers to Wildfire Smoke Protection"

Protecting families from wildfire smoke

DEOHS and collaborators survey Yakima Valley families' perspectives on wildfire smoke health risks

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Martindale stands on a misty beach in front of large driftwood tree trunks, with sea stacks in the background. She is wearing glasses, a blue baseball cap, an orange scarf and a grey jacket.

From supercomputers to science communication

DEOHS Outstanding Master’s Student and Omenn Award winner Cecilia Martindale is committed to protecting our health from climate change impacts

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Houses in the foreground with smoke on a hillside rising into the air, with the LA skyline and mountains in the background.

How cuts to climate research could impact community health

Understanding climate change’s impact on health is critical to keeping communities safe, says DEOHS faculty member Joan Casey

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Towers with electrical wires against a cloudy, hazy sky.

What kind of weather is most likely to cause a power outage where you live?

Nationwide patterns of severe weather in new study provide crucial data for hazard response and mitigation

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In the news

Bill Gates calls for climate fight to shift focus from curbing emissions to reducing human suffering
October 28, 2025 | AP | Featured: Kristie L. Ebi View

New research links wildfire smoke to lower sperm counts
October 14, 2025 | KNKX | Featured: Tristan Nicholson View

Wildfire smoke might damage male fertility
October 9, 2025 | HealthDay | Featured: Tristan Nicholson View

UW Study: Wildfire smoke impacts sperm quality
October 1, 2025 | KXLY | Featured: Tristan Nicholson View

Wildfire smoke now kills 41,000 Americans a year, study finds
September 19, 2025 | HealthDay | Featured: Joel D. Kaufman View