Wildfires and heatwaves, which generate microscopic airborne pollutants, risk undermining international efforts to improve air quality, protect human health and safeguard nature, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Monday (September 7, 2026).
The United Nations’ weather and climate agency underlined the links between air pollution and climate change, which scientists say is leading to more frequent and more intense heatwaves and wildfires. “Air quality and climate change can’t be dealt with separately. Another source of air pollution that carries major health risks is ground-level ozone, which accumulates when temperatures rise, atmospheric conditions stagnate and solar radiation is intense, as seen during recent heatwaves in China, Europe and the southeastern United States.
One study cited in the WMO Bulletin says extreme fire-smoke events have tripled globally since the 1990s, contributing to nearly 100,000 additional deaths per year between 2010 and 2018, although this may be an underestimate. Because they cannot be dealt with in isolation, “(We need) complementary and coordinated policies on air quality and climate.
“Extreme wildfires are increasing, leading to big health consequences because of the high toxicity of smoke,” the WMO said in a statement accompanying its latest annual Air Quality and Climate Bulletin. These pollutants “are not sufficiently monitored even though they are widespread and are potentially harmful to ecosystems”, the WMO said. If one worsens, the other does too,” Lorenzo Labrador, from the WMO’s Global Atmosphere Watch network of scientists, told AFP . “In places where there are relatively powerful forest fires, we find a lot of fine particle pollution,” he said. “This increased exposure to ozone pollution has the potential to lead to tens of thousands of additional premature deaths,” particularly due to respiratory diseases, the WMO warned.
