Wildfires are reversing America’s progress on ozone pollution, the main ingredient in smog

The number of ozone-related premature deaths due to wildfires is also rising.

By: Weizhi Deng, University of Iowa; Jun Wang, University of Iowa, and Meng Zhou, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: June 4, 2026

Words: 1,041

Last Updated: 1 month, 2 weeks ago

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By Weizhi Deng, University of Iowa; Jun Wang, University of Iowa, and Meng Zhou, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

For decades, the United States made steady progress in reducing surface ozone pollution, the main ingredient in smog. But that progress – achieved as vehicles, industries and power sources became cleaner – is increasingly being overshadowed by a different and growing source of ozone pollution: wildfires.

Our team of atmospheric and wildfire scientists …

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