From flames to haze, wildfire smoke transforms as it travels, and it can harm your health in different ways

Wildfire smoke travels thousands of miles, changing chemically and physically as it moves.

When a wildfire burns, it releases fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

These pollutants can harm human health, affecting the lungs, heart, and other organs, and may include carcinogens.

The smoke’s behavior depends on the fire’s temperature: hot, intense flames produce nitrogen oxides and reactive carbon compounds, while cooler, smoldering fires release aromatic oxygenates and ammonia.

The smoke’s journey is shaped by wind speed, atmospheric temperature, and sunlight.

Massive wildfires can lift smoke high into the atmosphere, where high-altitude winds transport it across the continent.

This process is studied by atmospheric chemists, such as those at the NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, using research aircraft and controlled fuel burns to track smoke evolution.