Daily Fine Resolution Estimates of the Influence of Wildfires on Fine Particulate Matter in California, 2011–2020

• Published in: Atmosphere 2024-06, Vol.15 (6), p.680
• Main Authors: Jones-Ngo, Caitlin G., Conlon, Kathryn C., Al-Hamdan, Mohammad, Vargo, Jason
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air pollution; Air pollution measurements; air pollution modeling; Algorithms; Climate; Climate and health; Climate and population; Climate change; Daily; Datasets; Emission standards; Emissions; Environmental hazards; Environmental impact; Environmental protection; Environmental risk; Estimates; fine particulate matter; Outdoor air quality; Particulate emissions; Particulate matter; Particulate matter emissions; Pollutants; Public health; Smoke; Smoke plumes; source-specific air pollution; Suspended particulate matter; VOCs; Volatile organic compounds; wildfire smoke; Wildfires
• ISSN: 2073-4433; 2073-4433
• DOI: 10.3390/atmos15060680

Worsening wildfire seasons in recent years are reversing decadal progress on the reduction of harmful air pollutants in the US, particularly in Western states. Measurements of the contributions of wildfire smoke to ambient air pollutants, such as fine particulate matter (PM2.5), at fine resolution scales would be valuable to public health research on climate vulnerable populations and compound climate risks. We estimate the influence of wildfire smoke emissions on daily PM2.5 at fine-resolution, 3 km, for California 2011–2020, using a geostatistical modeled ambient PM2.5 estimate and wildfire smoke plume data from NOAA Hazard Mapping System. Additionally, we compare this product with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) daily and annual standards for PM2.5 exposure. Our results show wildfires significantly influence PM2.5 in California and nearly all exceedances of the daily US EPA PM2.5 standard were influenced by wildfire smoke, while annual exceedances were increasingly attributed to wildfire smoke influence in recent years. This wildfire-influenced PM2.5 product can be applied to public health research to better understand source-specific air pollution impacts and assess the combination of multiple climate hazard risks.