Wildfires under changing climate, and their environmental and health impacts

Shiv Bolan; Shailja Sharma; Santanu Mukherjee; Daniel F. Gomez Isaza; Essie M. Rodgers; Pingfan Zhou; Deyi Hou; Facundo Scordo; Sudeep Chandra; Kadambot H. M. Siddique; Nanthi Bolan

doi:10.1007/s11368-025-04020-y

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Wildfires under changing climate, and their environmental and health impacts

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Wildfires under changing climate, and their environmental and health impacts

Shiv Bolan, Shailja Sharma, Santanu Mukherjee, Daniel F. Gomez Isaza, Essie M. Rodgers, Pingfan Zhou, Deyi Hou, Facundo Scordo, Sudeep Chandra, Kadambot H. M. Siddique, …

Journal of soils and sediments

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-025-04020-y

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Abstract

Wildfires

Climate change

Ecosystem

Environmental health

Public health

Contaminants

Purpose Extreme weather events including drought, flooding, and wildfires resulting from climate change can impact ecosystems. Various toxic substances are emitted during wildfires, such as particulate matter and volatile organic compounds, as the frequency and intensity of wildfires rise with climate change. This review aims to focus on the effects of wildfires on environmental health covering contaminants in soil, aquatic and atmospheric environment. Materials and methods A thorough literature search was conducted in Web of Science Core Collections with the following keywords: “wildfire” OR “volatile organic compounds” OR “pollution” OR “contamination” OR “terrestrial pollution” OR “aquatic pollution” OR “atmospheric pollution”. PRISMA flow chart was used to highlight the review's content and provide a more thorough synthesis of relevant studies. Results and discussion Various studies have shown how wildfire emissions affect the public health, although handful information available regarding the environmental health impacts of smoke emissions during wildfires. The post-wildfire trace elemental concentrations and speciation are notably linked to plant species, geology, and topography. Recent studies found increased levels of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), suspended solids, and water turbidity in lakes within wildfire-burnt watersheds. The response of individual ecosystems to wildfire depends on proximity to the fire, fire characteristics, fuel fee material burned, the effect of fundamental drivers of water quality. Conclusions The findings of this review will encourage and strengthen collaboration between the scientific community and regulatory agencies to better understand how erratic weather events, such as wildfires, may affect the health of people and animals. [Display Omitted]

Details

Title: Wildfires under changing climate, and their environmental and health impacts
Authors/Creators: Shiv Bolan
Shailja Sharma
Santanu Mukherjee
Daniel F. Gomez Isaza
Essie M. Rodgers
Pingfan Zhou
Deyi Hou
Facundo Scordo
Sudeep Chandra
Kadambot H. M. Siddique
Nanthi Bolan
Publication Details: Journal of soils and sediments
Publisher: Springer
Number of pages: 25
Identifiers: 991005765033707891
Murdoch Affiliation: Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems; School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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Source: InCites

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21 Record Views

10 Times Cited - Web of Science

InCites Highlights

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Citation topics: 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology; 3.40 Forestry; 3.40.1598 Wildfire Dynamics
Web Of Science research areas: Environmental Sciences; Soil Science
ESI research areas: Agricultural Sciences