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That’s because simultaneous exposure to heat and smoke amplifies adverse health effects, leading to��worse respiratory,��cardiovascular��and��birth outcomes��than either on their own, according to .��

With climate change increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather, including and wildfires, this��particularly pernicious combination could become more common in the future.

��ѻ��ý had the third worst air quality in the world Monday, according to . The heat wave is forecast to last until Thursday and the smoke will likely linger just as long, though����ѻ��ý will avoid the worst of the smoke, which is headed to Ottawa and Montreal, according to the��.

Emerging research shows that .

“I often��equate it to smoking because we know when people smoke, they’re breathing in combusted plant life,” said Dr. Anne Hicks, a professor of pediatric respiratory medicine at the University of Alberta. “With wildfires, we’re burning down vegetation and you’re inhaling it.”

Smoke from forest fires contains toxic��volatile organic hydrocarbons and heavy metals, Hicks said. And when they react to sunlight in the atmosphere, they generate ozone and other pollutants that can cause swelling in the lungs. While the visible particles in smoke won’t penetrate as deeply into your lungs as some of the smaller, invisible particles, the smallest particles of all can pass directly into your bloodstream.

“If you’re smelling something, probably at least some of that is getting absorbed directly into your olfactory nerve — the part of your nervous system that’s involved in scent — and that can go directly to your brain,” she said.

With increased wildfire activity, and the huge “monster” fires that burn for months on end becoming more commonplace, smoke is travelling long distances and reaching places it didn’t used to.

A found that hospitalizations increased by 20 per cent in the U.S. northeast in 2023, after smoke from B.C. and Alberta travelled 3,200 kilometres to blanket the area. Quebec fires that same year sent smoke into southern Ontario, where a similar ��was found.

As bad as that sounds, smoke is the lesser evil when compared to extreme heat.��

“Heat is an immediate risk. Heat kills. Heat kills especially the most vulnerable populations: infants and young children, the elderly, people with less access to services or who live alone, and people who have housing insecurity,” Hicks said.

So as much as avoiding the smoke is important, compromises��— like opening a window in a stuffy apartment��— might be necessary to avoid the heat.

“Being too hot with no smoke exposure is riskier than being exposed to smoke at cooler temperatures,” said Dr. Sarah Henderson,��director of environmental health services at the University of British Columbia in .

In order to protect yourself from smoke, Hicks recommends staying inside if possible, or minimizing physical activity if you have to be outside. Masks can filter out some toxic particles, but few will protect you completely.

She also says keeping indoor spaces clean is important for improving air quality, and investing in a HEPA filter for��children’s bedrooms has been shown to have health benefits.��

It’s both a short-term and a long-term concern, she said.

“Wildfires I think didn’t used to fall into both categories and now they do just because we’re exposed to the smoke so many more days per year,” said Hicks.

“In the short term we absolutely need to worry about it. And there’s lots of good evidence that infants and young children, the elderly, people with heart and lung problems and so on are going to be at increased risk of immediate harms like asthma attacks, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) attacks, strokes, that kind of stuff … Not to mention that it’s miserable to be coughing all day.”