The CDC has a new study claiming that smoky air from this summer’s wildfires increased elderly visits to the hospital for asthma. It’s pretty clear from the data that media hysteria rather than smoky air is the culprit. Below is a chart from the study, as annotated by me, that explains all. Note also there was no spike at all among children.
I’m surprised there wasn’t any media hysteria over the smoky skies this am in upstate (east of Rochester, NY). When I went out this am there was a much heavier smoke presence than anything reported during the Canadian fire drama. I honestly don’t think I would have noticed anything then. Yet there were local newcasts blaring their warnings. This am? 8/25—Nothing.
Living on the west coast, summer smokey skies is common (when winds are blowing the wrong way, as they frequently do) and weather reports usually mention elevated smoke as part of the air quality index. These smokey periods are annoying to the general population and may cause some modest increase in problems for those with compromised lungs for various reasons (that’s why the weather reports have an “air quality index”). Folks on the east coast are spoiled in having very rare occurrences of smokey air, due to the typical airflow and weather patterns. What NY (heart of the US news business) “suffered” for a few days has occurred on the west coast for weeks at a time. (Some years are better others worse–this year has been relatively clear of smoke, at least in the Portland OR vicinity.) I’ll “keep” our smoke because we don’t have the muggy, humid heat during warm/hot weather.