However, for average people trying to make decisions about the safety of outdoor activities, the current forecasting system is wanting. This is especially true when smoke blows in from fires far away, or when rapidly changing smoke emission rates and complex wind patterns lead to conflicting forecasts and advisories.

A few key improvements would go a long way for practical decision making around wildfire smoke. More accurate 10-day forecasts and neighborhood-level forecasts would help communities plan ahead. Merging seasonal weather forecasts of precipitation, humidity and winds with satellite assessments of wildfire fuel conditions could also enhance emergency planning.

Maintaining a strong air quality monitoring network is also important. However, state and local government agencies have reduced the number of ground monitors by about 10% from its peak in 2001. Smoke estimates from satellites and low-cost portable sensors can help, but they work best when they can be cross-calibrated to a well-maintained network of high-accuracy monitors.

More effective adaptations to smoke will require more research to better understand the effects of repeated exposures to wildfire smoke and the compound hazards that develop when smoke hits simultaneously with other challenges, such as extreme heat.

Community responses, such as providing clean-air shelters – the equivalent to a cooling center during extreme heat – are gaining attention, but there is only limited guidance on what constitutes a clean-air shelter and where and when one would be used.

Living with smoke is emerging as a new reality that people across much of North America will have to contend with again this year, and prepare for in the future.

This is an update to an article originally published Sept. 1, 2023.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Charles O. Stanier, University of Iowa; Gregory Carmichael, University of Iowa, and Peter S. Thorne, University of Iowa

Read more:
Wildfire smoke can harm human health, even when the fire is burning hundreds of miles away – a toxicologist explains why

Wildfire smoke and dirty air are also climate change problems: Solutions for a world on fire

Wildfire smoke changes dramatically as it ages, and that matters for downwind air quality – here’s what we learned flying through smoke plumes

Charles O. Stanier receives funding from the National Science Foundation.

Gregory Carmichael receives funding from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Peter S. Thorne receives funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.