Short-term surges in air pollution in New Jersey from the 2023 Canadian wildfires were associated with a higher stroke rate and more serious strokes, according to a preliminary study released March 3, 2026, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 78^th Annual Meeting next month.

“Wildfire smoke contains pollutants like ozone and particulate matter, so it is more than a nuisance, it can be a public health hazard,” said study author Elizabeth Cerceo, MD, of Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden, New Jersey. “The 2023 Canadian wildfires resulted in unprecedented declines in air quality across the northeastern United States. Our findings show that short-term exposure to elevated air pollution from these wildfires was associated with a higher incidence and severity of stroke.” 

Related: smoking and strokes

For the study, researchers used a stroke registry to identify all cases of stroke that occurred during June and July 2023 and during the same months a year earlier. Ischemic strokes are the most common kind of stroke. Bleeding strokes are more severe and often more fatal.

Researchers reviewed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data for both periods from air quality monitors located in Camden, New Jersey. They calculated average daily exposures for ozone which, when inhaled, can cause shortness of breath, coughing and aggravation of conditions like asthma. They also calculated daily average exposures for fine particulate matter, also called PM2.5, which is air pollution with particles that are 2.5 micrometers in diameter or less.

Ozone levels peaked at 136 parts per billion (ppb) during the wildfires in 2023 compared to median ozone concentration of 36 ppb. Particulate matter reached 211 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m³) compared to median concentration of 48.5 µg/m³.

Daily air quality data was matched with the timing of each stroke. Because pollution effects may take a few days to impact the body, researchers also took into account the levels from the preceding one to two days before participants had their stroke.

For ozone levels, 72% of the days were 50 ppb or less, with 28% of the days above the recommended level. The World Health Organization guideline for ozone is 50 ppb. Researchers compared 42 strokes that occurred on above average ozone days, with 80 strokes that occurred on below average days. For strokes that occurred on above average ozone days, the incidence of stroke, or the rate at which new stroke cases occurred, was 1.25 strokes per day compared to 0.93 strokes per day that occurred on below average days.

After adjusting for factors like age, sex, race, and cause of stroke, researchers found higher average ozone days were associated with a 0.32 higher incidence of stroke per day.

They also found for strokes on above average ozone days, there was a higher proportion of bleeding strokes and more large artery atherosclerosis, plaque buildup in major arteries.

For particulate matter levels, 38% of the days were above average days and 62% were below average days. Researchers compared 39 strokes that occurred on above average particulate matter days to 83 strokes that occurred on below average days. They found above average particulate matter was associated with longer hospital stays and higher scores on a scale measuring stroke severity.

“While longer-term air pollution has been recognized as a risk factor for stroke, less is known about short exposures to wildfire smoke,” said Cerceo. “Our study addresses a critical gap by providing more information about the neurological impact of wildfire smoke. Our findings can help guide stroke prevention and underscore the need for public health interventions during wildfires.”

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Imagine a world where forest wild fires are stopped before the fire trucks even roll. That’s what Israeli startup FireDome just showed in its first real-world demo of an autonomous wildfire resilience system — a machine-vision launcher that spots small fires and catapults eco-friendly flame retardant capsules to snuff them out in seconds.

The system uses AI-powered detection to track smoke, heat, and movement, making split-second decisions on where to aim and release biodegradable capsules filled with water or retardant. The goal: to contain wildfires before they spread. It could save factories and land managers millions on insurance premiums. And save people in California the grief from wildfires. Personal home versions are in the works.

“This is the turning point,” said Gadi Benjamini, CEO and Co-Founder of FireDome. “Wildfires are getting bigger, costlier, and harder to insure against. Our technology acts in seconds to protect lives and landscapes before first responders arrive.”

FireDome’s platform defines what it calls Wildfire Resilience-as-a-Service (RaaS) — a new model that merges detection, decision-making, and suppression into one holistic defense system for communities, utilities, vineyards, and resorts living with wildfire risk.

“FireDome exemplifies the kind of breakthrough that can change how we live with wildfire risk,” added Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell, former U.S. Fire Administrator and FireDome advisor.

With climate change turning wildfires into a year-round menace, FireDome’s automated response could help insurers, landowners, and municipalities rethink what resilience looks like — using technology not to fight nature, but to act before disaster strikes.

::Firedome

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In a study recently published in the journal Ecology, University of California, Irvine scientists uncover the intricate dance between drought, wildfires and invasive species in Southern California’s coastal sage scrub ecosystems. The research, led by Sarah Kimball, director of the Center for Environmental Biology at UCI, sheds light on the critical interplay of these factors and its profound implications for ecosystem health.

The research, conducted at the Loma Ridge Global Change Experiment, showcases how prolonged drought acts as a catalyst, influencing not only the severity of wildfires but also paving the way for invasive species to take center stage. By simulating drought conditions, the study clarifies connections between climate change, wildfire dynamics, and shifts in plant communities.

Reduced fire severity associated with drought creates an environment conducive to invasive species. Non-native grasses, in particular, thrive in these conditions, potentially leading to a transformation of the landscape and abundance and diversity of native species.

The findings carry significant implications for managing these vulnerable ecosystems. The study advocates for strategies that carefully consider the frequency of wildfires and the control of invasive species post-fire. Controlled burns, commonly used in other ecosystems, are not recommended for coastal sage scrub systems, as they can inadvertently promote invasive species.

“This study is unique in that replicate experimental plots were subjected to several years of different precipitation regimes prior to the wildfire, allowing an opportunity to test how a range of pre-fire weather conditions influenced fire severity and resulting plant community composition,” says Kimball: “We found feedbacks between invasive species and low-severity wildfire, indicating that control burns should not be conducted in this system.”

Beyond academic circles, the research holds significance for the public. As wildfires increasingly impact communities, comprehending the factors influencing their severity becomes paramount. The study prompts a reevaluation of traditional wildfire management approaches, highlighting the urgent need to address climate change for the preservation of natural ecosystems.

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Last week global warming’s wrath swept through the United States and hardly anybody took notice. The worst wildfires in Colorado and Utah history  torched hundreds of homes and miles of forest. The Waldo Canyon fire alone, which is still only 45% contained, burned 350 houses right down to the ground. Some residents returned yesterday to find their cars turned to scraps.

Then the searing heat wave that exacerbated these fires marched on, joining forces with a furious hurricane-force wind storm that ripped through several states on the east coast. More than 3 million people are without power amid temperatures of 100 degrees Fahrenheit plus and could remain that way for a week or more. At least 17 people have died. Yet the world has been mostly silent; oil drillers drill on; new deals are signed.

This is what our future looks like, but worse

These fires, these storms, these are our future, and their fury will only grow. New records are being set every year. It’s only June, as environmentalist and 350.org founder Bill McKibben pointed out in a recent Guardian article, and already there have been four named tropical storms in the United States. Normally this doesn’t happen until August.

In addition to being extraordinarily uncomfortable and even deadly, these disasters are costly. Colorado has spent $8.8 million on fighting the Waldo Canyon Fire alone. Add that to the costs of fighting fires in Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana as well, along with repairs of downed power lines in the east, new cars and houses, and nationwide clean up.

Cleaning up after ourselves: that is what we and future generations are going to be doing from now on. Cleaning up the mess our greed has made since the onset of the industrial revolution. We are going to pay the price of all those power plants and all those carbon emissions and it will become increasingly difficult to focus on anything else.

Though we may not have hurricanes in our part of the world, our wildfires will grow more intense as well. And we know – all too well – about high temperatures and drought. But lacking the west’s sophisticated information infrastructure, we are less-well equipped to track the changes, which means it is harder to put escalating disasters into perspective.

Nonetheless, here are a few examples of global-warming related issues we should watch this summer:

• Saudi Arabia has warned residents to brace themselves for extreme heat this Ramadan, which will start around the 20 July this year. “Temperatures this summer will be higher than average in most parts of the country. It will reach 50 degrees Celsius in the shade,” said Murad Hashim, assistant undersecretary for climatic affairs and applied studies at the Regional Center for Drought Monitoring and Early Warning. The highest temperature recorded at Mecca since 1980 was was 49.7 degrees Celsius on Aug. 7, 2010.
• In 2010, severe drought in Russia brought Egypt to its knees. Why so? Because Egypt is the world’s largest importer of wheat and Russia is a major supplier. So is the United States, but forecasters are expecting a 50% reduction in grain stockpiles as a result of extended drought and heat and prices have already risen. Egypt will not get through this unscathed.
• Fires in southern Lebanon destroyed 46.7 acres of grassland and fruit trees last week. Following the winter freeze that destroyed 75% of bee populations in some areas of the country earlier this year, the country’s agricultural industry is at serious risk.
• High temperatures and virtually no rainfall is a deadly combination. Add an influx of refugees fleeing from Assad’s reign of terror in Syria and Jordan is battling to keep pace with demand. Tens of thousands of Syrians are seeking refuge in Jordan, which is one of the top ten driest countries in the world. “The majority of Syrian refugees are concentrated in the northern cities of Mafraq, Irbid, Ramtha, Jerash and Ajlun. All of these areas already suffer from water shortage,” Fayez Bataineh, secretary general of the Water Authority, told AFP.
• As temperatures rise and with it power outages (some parts of Lebanon are without power 12 hours a day), the use of diesel generators will climb as well. Each gallon of diesel fuel produces, on average, about 22.2 lb of carbon emissions, further fueling the source of our climate change woes.

What can you do?

Avoid driving as much as possible. Use public transportation if you can and install a solar system at your home if you have the financial resources to do so. These problems will intensify, so the better prepared you are the better. Just think: the Lebanese goat farmer who installed a photovoltaic system at his house is able to stay cool and continue with business as normal while many of his peers are sweltering in the proverbial dark.

Image credit: Bo Insogna, 2012

The post The Wrath of Global Warming and the Middle East appeared first on Green Prophet.

Fourteen months after Israel’s worst environmental wildfires destroyed more than 7,500 acres of Carmel mountain forests and claimed 42 lives,  a report issued by the office of Israel’s State Comptroller is  directing the blame for not dealing quickly and properly enough to contain these fires at two government cabinet ministers. The two cabinet ministers, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Interior Minister Eli Yishai, have been blamed for the major responsibility, according to a recent article in Haaretz. The two ministers are being asked in a report by the State Comptroller, Micha Lindenstrauss, to be removed from their present ministerial portfolios and assigned other portfolios.

The causes of the December 2-6, 2010 wildfires have still not been definitely assigned, although accounts at the time of the fire point to possible acts of arson or negligence. This includes reports of being lit by what many are calling illegal trash burning in the largely Druze inhabited Carmel mountain town of Osifiya.

The Haaretz article stated that harsh criticism for negligence in regards to not providing ample funds to finance adequate firefighting equipment prior to the fire is expected to be aimed at finance minister Steinitz. Interior minister Yishai, although admitting that the state of preparedness for fighting large wildfires was grossly inadequate, did not appropriate funds from his own ministry to alleviate the problem. Both ministers are also being accused of not acting fast enough to authorize the mobilization of government resources quickly enough once the scale of the wildfires became known.

One year later, the situation regarding adequate resources for fighting such wildfires has still not shown much improvement, however. What has happened is more rain fell during the month of November 2011, as well as in the month of January, 2012. This rainfall has dampened the forest areas and has helped reduce the danger of new wildfires.

Carmel Forest areas damaged by the wildfires are still in the process of recovery; as well as communities like Kibbutz Beit Oren. Beit Oren suffered substantial damage to its forest areas as well as to residential housing units. Besides rebuilding fire damaged structures, the kibbutz is  also adopting new policies that include more green projects in and around the kibbutz.

Whether the recommendations of State Comptroller Lindenstrauss’ report are actually carried out still remains to be seen. But in any case, it makes everyone more aware that the responsibility “buck” ends at the top of the political totem poll; which in this case is Prime Minister Binjamin Netanyahu himself.

Photo: Skyscrapercity.com

Read more on the December 2010 Carmel Forest wildfires:

Worst Wildfires in Israel’s Modern History Continue to Rage Out of Control
Kibbutz Recovers From Killer Forest Fires by Going Green
Israel Carmel Fire: Taking Stock of How it Happened

The post Israel’s Carmel Wildfire Blame Goes All the Way to the Top appeared first on Green Prophet.

50,000 dunams of the Carmel Forest, or nearly half, have been destroyed in the massive wildfire raging in northern Israel since Thursday. The fire is under control but officials said Saturday that it could take dozens of years to rehabilitate the area.

Part of the land is managed by the Jewish National Fund (JNF), which contributed fire-fighting equipment and 200 specially trained JNF firefighters  to assist in extinguishing the fire.  The JNF force was set up during the Second Lebanon War, when frequent fires broke out in forests in the north.

Jordan, Egypt, Turkey,  the Palestinian Authority and many other countries sent personnel and equipment to help put out the blaze, described as the worst in Israel’s history.

As the danger recedes, Jewish National Fund Chairman Efi Stenzler said,“We will go tree by tree to make sure they are not still burning. After the flames are put out, our foresters will go tree by tree again to see what can be saved and what has to be replanted. We will replant oak trees, but also almond and pomegranate trees so that people can have shade but also see fruit.”

Some of the forest’s trees were planted by hand, while others grew as part of a natural forest.

Rangers successfully evacuated the world’s largest breeding group of raptor birds from the Hai Bar Nature reserve. Park personnel guarded the reserve’s deer in a fireproof enclosure. The extent of damage to smaller species of animals and plants in the biosphere may never be known.

Stenzler noted, “I’d like to remind all those who set fires either purposely or negligently [that] it takes dozens of years for trees to grow and only a minute to burn.”

More Green News from Green Prophet:

Jordan’s Gray Wolves Are Hunted, Poisoned and Run Over

Green Prophet Flies to “The Ornithological Society of Kuwait”

Protection Legislation Endangers Red Sea Sharks

Source: Jerusalem Post
Photo credit: Mike Baird

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