CLIMATE Wildfires, Excessive Heat

• By: AWMA
• On: 08/04/2025 11:15:09
• In: EM Articles
• Comments: 0

by Chris Whitehead

In this month's opening feature article, authors Michael Ierardi, Taylor Burnham, and Daniel Lauer write about occupational health risks related to climate. Their analysis focuses on those responding to prolonged heat and wildfire events and details a range of health impacts that can be expected with increasing exposure intervals. The authors also discuss the differences between acute and chronic health issues that have been associated with exposure to heat stress.

Next, Behzad Heibati, Haoran Yu, and Zaher Hashisho dig into the detrimental effects that wildfire smoke has on preexisting conditions, particularly among some of our most vulnerable populations. Rising global temperatures have created more dry fuels to burn, which has increased the average size and ferocity of wildfires, while also making the air emissions from the fire more harmful for human inhalation.

In our third article this month, Virginia Iglesias addresses how the range of impacts and geographic extent of wildfires has changed in recent years.
We thank the authors for their contributions to this very important topic. We hope you enjoy this issue of EM, look into other works by these talented authors, and as you read, think about the ways that wildfires have affected your life and your work.

Continue reading the full August 2025 issue of EM.