Wildfire Air Pollution
The wildfires in the West Coast are creating hazardous air conditions. It has caused the pollution levels to be higher than they ever have before. They are also higher than the worst polluted places in the world. Particles known as PM2.5 are released during fires. When inhaled, the body's immune system is unable to break them down. They are known to cause respiratory and cardiovascular health issues. The scale used to measure air quality indicates that when its number goes above 151, the air is unsafe for the entire population. During these fires, the levels reached over 300. There is research being done now to see if hundreds of people died from inhaling the smoke.
This natural disaster creates a type of pollution that we can not control. It shows us what polluted air can cause and should be a warning sign that we need to reduce our emissions before unsafe air is the reality all of the time. Also, global warming is known to cause more natural disasters and could have been a cause of these abnormal fires.
It's scary that this is happening in our world and getting worse every year. All I can think about is how it will affect our future generations and the long term effect it may have on us. Something definitely needs to be done and it should be done quicker than most people would think.
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