Smoke and wildfires

Wildfires can occur naturally, ignited by the sun’s heat or a lightning strike, or they can be caused by careless human activities like unattended fires or discarded cigarettes. They often begin unnoticed and quickly spread through brush, trees, and homes. Climate change creates warmer, drier conditions that increase wildfire risk and helps the fire to spread.

Effects of wildfires on air quality

Wildfires emit carbon dioxide and other pollutants that severely degrade the local air quality. Smoke is made up of a complex mixture of gasses and fine particles produced when wood and other organic materials burn. The smoke can rise many miles into the stratosphere and cause air pollution in areas far from the wildfire itself. Smoke from outdoors can also enter your home and make the air you breathe indoors hazardous.

Hazard to human health

Globally, wildfire smoke is estimated to have caused nearly 340,000 premature deaths a year - more than those who have directly lost their lives in the blazes. The smoke from wildfires can travel large distances and so can affect the health of people living both near to the flames and hundreds of miles away. The tiny particles can be up to 10 times more harmful to human health than soot from other emissions like tailpipes and factories. They enter the eyes and respiratory system and cause health issues such as burning eyes, runny nose, and illnesses like bronchitis. They can also aggravate chronic heart and lung diseases.x

How to protect yourself

Limiting your exposure to smoke is the best respiratory protection, especially if you are at increased risk for particle-related health effects. People who live in areas affected by wildfires report wearing a smoke mask during wildfire season helps them to reduce the health effects from smoke inhalation. A smoke mask can protect you from PM2.5 pollution even if you don't live in an area that is directly affected by the fire. With a filter efficiency of over 95% at 0.3μm particle size, Airinum masks are highly effective at preventing smoke inhalation.

How our filtration helps you against smoke

Filtration

Airinum masks use a multilayer filter technology to provide superior protection from germs. Both the Urban Air Mask 2.0 and the Lite Air Mask filter out more than 99.9% of particles