Scientists warn that the increasingly large and intense wildfires that rage in the Pacific Northwest each summer are causing a spike in air pollutants during August, which they say undermines clear air gains and could be harmful to millions of people.
The warning comes in a study recently published in Nature Communications, a peer-reviewed scientific journal. In that study, scientists with the National Center for Atmospheric Research found that amount of carbon monoxide in the air in August increased dramatically between 2002 and 2018.
That’s significant because carbon monoxide levels are typically lower during the summer. Scientists say wildfire smoke is likely the reason for the detected increase.
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