Wildfire smoke has blanketed Vermont multiple times this summer, clogging the air and making it unhealthy for vulnerable people to be outdoors.

Towns across Vermont have seen several days when the air quality was “unhealthy for sensitive groups” — and Environmental Protection Agency data analyzed by Vermont Public shows an upward trend in recent years.

Is all of this really new? We asked some scientists.

How has air quality in Vermont changed over the years?

Prior to European settlement, wildfires were common across what’s now the northeastern United States and Canada.

Canada’s vast swathes of boreal and taiga forests actually need fire to thrive. Many species of trees there are adapted to fire, and episodic burns help them to reproduce.

“I think it’s important to remind the listener

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