Wildfire Smoke in the United States

As large wildfires grow more frequent, the United States is seeing increasing impacts from smoke. Wildfire smoke frequently causes particulate matter pollution to exceed federal standards, and these smoke impacts are expected to grow over the century as the climate warms. Drawing from the economics and social science literature, this paper argues that increasing wildfire smoke pollution is a serious threat to health, the economy, and human well-being. The paper identifies areas in which to prioritize policy attention, such as increasing funding for land management activities and leveraging air quality regulations to incentivize wildfire hazard mitigation.