New Yorkers can apparently breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now. Their exposure to the smoke in June 2023 from Canadian wildfires led to only a slightly higher bump in visits to New York City hospital emergency departments for breathing problems or asthma attacks than what is seen on days when pollen counts are high. However, authors of a new study say other possible health effects, such as possible heart attacks and stroke, still need to be investigated.
, as measured by the presence of tiny particles known as particulate matter 2.5, which can if lodged deep in the lungs lead to inflammation, as well as respiratory and heart problems.for the first six months of 2023, including months of regular ambient air pollution and the days in June when wildfire smoke peaked, they found that wildfire smoke led to a 3% average increase in asthma-related visits to emergency departments across all city hospitals .
By comparison, they say this peak wildfire number is only slightly higher than the 302 asthma-related emergencies seen on April 26, 2023, when the level of tree pollen, another lung irritant and known asthma trigger, was high . "Thankfully, the respiratory effects of the wildfire smoke in June were not much worse than what had been seen on really bad pollen days back in the spring, and despite what many New Yorkers may have feared on seeing hazy, orange air," said study co-investigator Wuyue Yu, a doctoral student at NYU Langone Health.American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
"Still, the long-term consequences, if any, of exposure to wildfire smoke remain unknown, so we are not yet totally in the clear," said study co-investigator David Luglio, a doctoral student at NYU Langone Health.