Unveiling the Local Impact of Wildfire Pollution Events Using the Breathe Providence Network
by Kate Farber
Kate’s project traces a major wildfire smoke event in May-June 2023 and explores its impact on Providence’s air quality. The Breathe Providence network captured skyrocketing concentrations of particulate matter (i.e. soot and smoke) throughout the city during this period.
Intra-network variability (i.e. differences in pollution between sensors) decreased during fire-impacted days, which suggests that the event acted as an ‘equalizer’ for pollution concentrations across the city. Analyses show that over the study period, Breathe Providence monitoring sites experienced an average increase of 12 𝜇g/m3 PM2.5 per day. Sites, on average, also registered 2 hours per day above 35 𝜇g/m3, the EPA 24-hour standard. At some locations, this was closer to 3 hours per day.
Kate’s findings contribute to our understanding of how typical patterns of urban air pollution are disrupted by wildfire events, which will only become more common as our planet continues to experience the effects of climate change.
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Particulate Matter Levels Under Wildfire Influence
Red line indicates EPA air quality standard for annual average PM2.5 (12 𝜇g/m3)
Kate analyzed the ways in which weather patterns interacted with and amplified the pollution, tracking how northerly winds transported pollution from Canada to Providence.
During the wildfire period, Breathe Providence sites spent 10 hours per day on average above the 12 μg m^3 annual standard compared to only one hour in typical conditions
In the summer of 2023, the eastern U.S. experienced unusually high levels of air pollution caused by Canadian wildfire smoke.