Smoke Signals: Understanding Temporal Dynamics of Wildfire Exposure on Health and Education

We study the impacts of wildfires in Chile mapping local exposure to over 1,000 large wildfires occurring over 20 wildfire seasons. We consider both how very local exposure patterns owing to changes in ambient conditions -- such as wind, atmospheric and topographic conditions -- affect exposure to air pollution from wildfires, as well as how this exposure shapes health and educational outcomes both contemporaneously and in the years following exposure. We use tens of millions of population records on admissions to hospital, birth outcomes (birth weight, size and gestational weeks), and students outcomes (GPA, standardized tests, and attendance rates). We find harmful effects of exposure to wildfires smoke on health, specifically among sensitive groups such as infants, and that these effects are transmitted over the life course onto worsen health and educational outcomes. This findings can be used for quantifying the benefits of fire prevention and suppression efforts as well as early warning and mitigation systems for wildfire smoke.