00:00The World Meteorological Organization has warned that intensifying wildfires and heatwaves
00:05are threatening global efforts to improve air quality and protect human health.
00:10The UN Weather Agency says climate change is making it harder
00:14to meet international air quality goals as extreme wildfires become more likely.
00:22The agency's scientific officer said even areas with clean air can see air quality deteriorate
00:28when wildfire pollution spreads into the region.
00:32If wildfire smoke is picked up high in the atmosphere by winds,
00:37those particulars can make it very, very far.
00:39I mean, we have detected the signal of wildfire smoke from Canada and the U.S. all the way here
00:46in Europe.
00:47I mean, the winds, the strong westerly winds, pick that up, carry the smoke over the Atlantic Ocean
00:53and bring it down to Europe.
00:55Of course, the effects are not going to be as severe here in Europe,
00:58as they are close to the sources, but you can still feel the impact.
01:02So air quality knows no boundaries.
01:05The degradation of air quality and the events that cause air quality degradation
01:09can go across many nations and across continents even.
01:12The report also cites research showing extreme fire smoke events have tripled globally since the 1990s
01:19and may have contributed to nearly 100,000 additional deaths each year between 2010 and 2018.
01:26The agency said wildfires are becoming a growing source of air pollution,
01:32even as industrial and transport emissions have fallen in many developed countries.
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