UN agency warns wildfires and heatwaves worsening global air quality

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) warned on Monday that escalating wildfires and heatwaves are undermining global progress in air‑quality improvement and public‑health protection. The United Nations agency highlighted that increasingly severe fires are boosting exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), a toxic pollutant linked to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, even as many regions have succeeded in curbing emissions from industry and transport.

While Europe and North America have recorded measurable declines in industrial and vehicular emissions through stricter regulations, the surge in fire‑related smoke is reversing those gains by introducing high concentrations of PM2.5 into the atmosphere. The WMO cautioned that without coordinated strategies to manage wildfire risk and heatwave intensity, the health benefits of existing emission controls could be eroded, emphasizing the need for integrated climate‑adaptation and air‑quality policies worldwide.