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as unprecedented as these developments may feel, sarah henderson, the scientific director of environmental health services at the b.c. centre for disease control, says the rest of the country is just getting a look at what they’ve been seeing for decades. “there’s a lot of desire to believe that our current wildfire situation is due to climate change and that’s not entirely incorrect but it’s also not entirely correct,” henderson says. “what we have happening in canada is the intersection of decades of forest management choices with climate trends.”
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the manner in which canada has harvested and replanted many of its forest resources over the years has resulted in a buildup of fuel on the landscape that does not mimic the natural forests that were there before. “this carbon bubble is intersecting with three things wildfires love — hot, dry wind,” says henderson, one of canada’s foremost experts on the subject. “together, these factors are leading to explosive wildfire trends.”
decades of regulations have also ensured that many other forms of air pollution are no longer as toxic as they once were. “we don’t have that control over wildfire.” henderson says. “so, what we see is that wildfire smoke is becoming a larger and larger part of the total air pollution exposure of people living in canada and in some cases — especially in western canada — it’s going to start dominating people’s lifetime exposure to air pollution.”
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it’s also important to take a good look at your indoor environment and find ways to reduce exposure as much as possible. “most of us spend the vast majority of our time indoors,” says henderson, who recommends investing in a relatively cheap but effective air quality monitor, such as the kind found at ikea . “if you just go inside and close your doors and windows, the smoke still gets in pretty well. we really recommend that you run some sort of air cleaning device to help remove those particles from the indoor air, either through a whole home or even one room of the home so that there’s a refuge that’s relatively smoke free.”
perhaps most important is to consider the sorts of activities you engage in once you’re outside. “you want to be thinking about where you’re breathing and how you can reduce your exposure,” henderson says. “if you’re just chilling, you’re breathing maybe six litres of air per minute. if you go for a run, you’re breathing maybe 60 litres of air per minute.”
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dave yasvinski is a writer with healthing.ca