It’s not just your lungs that can be impacted by the Canadian wildfire smoke
North AmericaClimateModerate confidence — 73/100
A thick blanket of Canadian wildfire smoke has billowed across North American cities this week, forcing evacuations in Minnesota, cancelling sporting events, reducing visibility on roads and degrading air quality to levels deemed unsafe.
Breathing in the smoke can damage the lungs as much as smoking cigarettes over the course of just a few days, according to researchers at Stanford University.
That’s because wildfire smoke often contains chemicals, metals and dangerous particle pollution known as PM2.5, that can travel through the lungs and enter the bloodstream.
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A thick blanket of Canadian wildfire smoke has billowed across North American cities this week, forcing evacuations in Minnesota, cancelling sporting events, reducing visibility on roads and degrading air quality to levels deemed unsafe.
Breathing in the smoke can damage the lungs as much as smoking cigarettes over the course of just a few days, according to researchers at Stanford University.
That’s because wildfire smoke often contains chemicals, metals and dangerous particle pollution known as PM2.5, that can travel through the lungs and enter the bloodstream.