"This would represent some of the country’s most costly consequences of a warming climate by mid-century, researchers say." 

"Smoke from wildfires exacerbated by climate change may cause as many as 71,000 additional deaths per year in the United States by 2050, a study published Thursday in the journal Nature found.

That would represent a 73 percent rise in premature deaths from those currently attributed to smoke from wildfires.

The health impacts of climate-driven wildfire smoke would be among the most critical and costly consequences of a warming climate in the U.S. by mid-century, the study’s authors concluded.

“Growing wildfire smoke is a much larger health risk than we might have understood previously,” said Marshall Burke, an associate professor of global environmental policy at Stanford University and a co-author of the study."

Phil McKenna reports for Inside Climate News September 18, 2025. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"See Where Wildfire Smoke Is Getting Worse In The U.S." (Washington Post) [3]

"Wildfire Smoke Will Kill Thousands More by 2050, Study Finds" (New York Times) [4]