Wildfires are reversing decades of clean air standards in Canada and the U.S., according to new data published Thursday.

根据周四公布的新数据，野火正在使加拿大和美国数十年来在清洁空气标准方面取得的成果付诸东流。



Researchers at the University of Chicago released their annual Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), which tracks air pollution and how it impacts life expectancies. This year's report analyzed data collected in 2023.

芝加哥大学的研究人员发布了年度《空气质量生命指数》（AQLI）报告， 该报告追踪空气污染情况及其对预期寿命的影响。 今年的报告分析了2023年收集的数据。

That year, as Canada faced its worst wildfire season in history, burning over 40 million acres of land, the flames caused air pollution concentrations to rise to levels not seen since 2011 in the United States and since 1998 in Canada, the years AQLI began recording air quality data. Both Canada and the U.S. had made great strides in lowering air pollution in the past—but the wildfires reversed that progress. The two countries saw the highest increases in air pollution worldwide in 2023—despite both having strict air quality rules at the time. The fires elevated pollution levels in pockets of the U.S., and also changed the geographical distribution of pollution in the U.S. The most polluted counties in the U.S. are typically concentrated in California, but that year, wildfires caused counties in several other states including Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana, and as far south as Mississippi, to be included among the most polluted.

那一年，加拿大遭遇了史上最严重的野火季，逾4000万英亩土地被烧毁， 野火导致空气污染浓度升至自2011年美国和1998年加拿大以来的最高水平， 而这两个年份正是AQLI开始记录空气质量数据的起始年份。 加拿大和美国过去在降低空气污染方面均取得了巨大进展，但野火却使这些成果付诸东流。 尽管当时两国均制定了严格的空气质量法规，但2023年，这两个国家的空气污染增幅仍居全球之首。 野火使美国部分地区的污染水平上升，还改变了美国污染物的地理分布。 美国污染最严重的县通常集中在加利福尼亚州，但那一年，由于野火肆虐，威斯康星州、伊利诺伊州、印第安纳州等几个州 以及远至南部的密西西比州的多个县也被列入污染最严重地区之列。

Around the world, 2023 saw concentrations of PM2.5—small particles 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter that are released in the air by fires and other sources of pollution—increased by 1.5% compared to 2022 levels, AQLI data shows—reaching nearly five times the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Long term exposures to PM2.5 can increase the risk of health impacts including heart disease, lung cancer, and stroke.

AQLI数据显示， 2023年，全球PM2.5（由火灾和其他污染源排放到空气中的直径为2.5微米或更小的微小颗粒物）浓度较2022年上升了1.5%， 达到世界卫生组织（WHO）指导标准的近五倍。 长期暴露于PM2.5环境中会增加患心脏病、肺癌和中风等健康问题的风险。

The findings are a stark warning of what could be a new reality for tackling air quality. This year's fire season has been the second worst on record, with a total of 18.5 million acres burned since the beginning of 2025. Climate change is causing an increase in the frequency and intensity of wildfires, with the largest increases occurring in the Western U.S. and the boreal forests of northern North America and Russia, according to a NASA study.

这些发现为应对空气质量问题可能面临的新现实敲响了警钟。 今年的火灾季是史上第二严重的火灾季，自2025年初以来，已有1850万英亩土地被烧毁。 美国国家航空航天局（NASA）的一项研究表明， 气候变化正导致野火发生频率和强度增加，其中增幅最大的地区是美国西部以及北美北部和俄罗斯的北方森林。

This comes at the same time as the Trump Administration is working to rollback clean air standards in the United States. In March, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it plans to undo landmark pollution standards, including the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, which regulates harmful pollutants like particulate matter.

与此同时，特朗普政府正致力于在美国放宽清洁空气标准。 3月，美国国家环境保护局宣布计划废除具有里程碑意义的污染标准， 包括《国家环境空气质量标准》，该标准对颗粒物等有害污染物进行监管。

The administration has also proposed revoking the 2009 "endangerment finding" which determined that greenhouse gases were a threat to public health and provided a legal backbone for regulations under the Clean Air Act. Researchers say that climate change and air pollution are deeply linked and that lowering carbon dioxide emissions, which raises temperatures and worsens wildfires, is an essential part of reducing air pollution.

政府还提议废除2009年的“危害认定”， 该认定指出温室气体对公众健康构成威胁，并为《清洁空气法》下的法规提供了法律依据。 研究人员表示，气候变化和空气污染紧密相连，降低二氧化碳排放量是减少空气污染的关键， 因为二氧化碳排放会升高气温，加剧野火。

"Both climate change and air pollution are driven by the same source—fossil fuel combustion from vehicles, power plants, and industry," researchers wrote in the report. "In this respect, reductions in fossil fuel consumption have the potential to decrease air pollution concentrations and the risks of disruptive climate change."

研究人员在报告中写道： “气候变化和空气污染均由同一来源驱动，即车辆、发电厂和工业的化石燃料燃烧。” “因此， 减少化石燃料消耗有可能降低空气污染浓度和破坏性气候变化的风险。”

素材来源：iYuba