Wildfire-smoke-related deaths in the US could climb to 70,000 per year by 2050 due to climate change, study finds

The Triborough Bridge along the East River in New York City with massive air pollution in the sky from wildfires.

Deaths resulting from exposure to wildfire smoke could cost the U.S. economy more by 2050 than all other climate-related harms combined, a new study suggests.

Wildfire smoke pollution is estimated to have caused 41,380 excess deaths per year between 2011 and 2020, and this number could increase by more than 70% to 71,420 over the next 25 years due to the impacts of climate change, scientists have found.