Smoke from record-breaking Canadian wildfires in 2023 caused an estimated 5,400 acute deaths and about 82,100 premature deaths worldwide, a new study shows.

The study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature acknowledges some variation in mortality estimates depending on the methods used, but says its overall conclusion is the smoke led to an “enormous and far-reaching” health burden.

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Canadian co-author Michael Brauer says the findings serve as a “wake-up call” for areas that haven’t typically seen repeated or prolonged exposure to wildfire smok

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