We used 2016 Census data to create a list of the seven most populous cities in northern California. We obtained each city's average AQI from USA.com, and its Nov. 19 AQI from PurpleAir.com To show how much smoke from the Camp Fire changed each city's AQI, we subtracted the average AQI from the Nov. 19 AQI. We calculated the cigarette-equivalent figure, and multiplied that figure by 11, to show many minutes of life an individual in the region might lose per day due to the Camp Fire. We multiplied the minutes-lost result by seven, to reflect the possibility that the typical individual in northern California will breathe smoke-filled air for about a week. We multiplied by the per-person averages by each city's population to get each city's loss-of-life total. We then converted the per-person loss figures into hours, and the city loss totals into years. Note that there are many limitations on this analysis. The overall regional AQI estimate, for example, was based on a look at typical AQI numbers in the PurpleAir.com AQI map for the region, and it's possible that many people in the region could succeed at using steps, such as wearing masks and staying indoors, to limit their exposure to smoky air.
In a recent study published in GeoHealth, researchers estimated that chronic inhalation of wildfire smoke may cause a total of about 15,000 deaths per year in the United States today. If climate change makes wildfires more common, the average number of deaths caused by wildfire smoke could increase to about 40,000 per year by the end of the 21st century, the researchers predicted. If inhaling smoke from wildfires does cause about 15,000 deaths per year in the United States, wildfires may causes about as many deaths per year as ovarian cancer, according to a comparison of that figure and the causes of death figures in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention final death report for 2016. If the number of U.S. deaths caused by wildfire smoke increased to 40,000 per year sometime in the future, wildfire smoke could kill about as U.S. residents per year as pancreatic cancer does now. — Read 3 Steps to Disaster-Proofing Your Firm, on ThinkAdvisor. — Connect with ThinkAdvisor Life/Health on LinkedIn and Twitter.
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