Summer is smoke season now

The wildfire smoke drifting into the eyes, throats and lungs of millions of Americans and Canadians this week is a stark reminder that the planet is changing in unsettling ways.

• The smoke, from wildfires raging in northern Minnesota and Canada, is causing dangerously bad air across the Midwest and Northeast — and could soon waft elsewhere.
• Air quality alerts have been issued in New York, Chicago, Toronto and more, with officials urging folks to stay inside.

Zoom in: It's too early to tie these wildfires directly to climate change.

• But researchers have shown that human-caused climate change is making wildfires both more likely and more intense.

One headline finding from a Climate Central report last year: "Per-person exposure to harmful wildfire smoke in the U.S. was four times higher during 2020-2024, on average each year, than during 2006-2019."

• Moreover, it's impossible for those of us in the smoke zone to avoid thinking about climate change as the skies turn to an ominous rust and our lungs begin to sting.
• The fires themselves have also destroyed homes and devastated local tourism.

The big picture: Massive smoke events like this have happened before — most notably in 2023.

• They may get more common as North America's forests keep drying up, creating ideal conditions for megafires sparked by lightning and other causes.

What's next: Hot and dry conditions mean the fires causing the smoke could keep burning for some time — and there's elevated risk of new fires.

• We may get periods of reprieve as the smoke stays high (possibly painting our skies but sparing our lungs), or gets carried elsewhere.
• At least one model suggests that the smoke could pour southward next week — reminding us that there's no safe port in a changing climate.

The bottom line: Americans out West have long understood "fire season." The rest of us need to start thinking about "smoke season," too.