Overview
- Wildfire smoke is now a recurring environmental and public health issue in Southeast Michigan, with 2025 already matching the 2023 record of 31 statewide air quality days by mid-August. Of these, 27 were Advisories (USG/Orange) and 4 were Alerts (Unhealthy/Red or worse), including multiple PM₂.₅ events that blanketed Southeast Michigan, including Washtenaw County. Short-term exposure can cause respiratory irritation, asthma and COPD flare-ups, and cardiovascular strain, while newer studies show elevated risks can last for weeks to months after major smoke episodes.
- Smoke seasons are getting longer and more severe as Canada experiences historically large wildfire years. The 2023 season burned roughly 15–18.5 million hectares — the most on record — and 2025 is already the second worst on record. Scientists attribute this to warmer temperatures, drier conditions, and increased lightning, all linked to climate change. The larger, more intense fires produce massive smoke plumes that, when winds shift south, push fine particulate pollution into the U.S. Midwest, repeatedly impacting Michigan’s air quality.
- Environmental fallout from these events reaches far beyond the air. Wildfire smoke and ash carry black carbon, heavy metals like aluminum and zinc, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which deposit into the Great Lakes and regional soils. Post-fire runoff can also increase sediment, nutrient, and contaminant loads in rivers and lakes, potentially harming aquatic life and stressing municipal water treatment systems. Some of these contaminants can persist in sediments, creating longer-term ecological concerns.
- Canada does actively fight wildfires, deploying provincial firefighting agencies, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, and international crews, but many blazes ignite in remote boreal areas with no road access. In those cases, policy prioritizes protecting communities and infrastructure, allowing some fires to burn under monitoring. Even with increased funding since 2023, the scale and intensity of recent fire seasons have overwhelmed available suppression capacity, especially during periods of extreme fire weather.
- Economic and social impacts are mounting on both sides of the border. Tourism operators in Canada have reported cancellations and park closures during heavy smoke periods in 2023 and 2025, and Michigan outdoor recreation has been disrupted by repeated air quality alerts. Public health agencies are responding by refining advisory systems and emphasizing mitigation steps, such as HEPA air filtration, clean-air rooms, and limiting outdoor activities during high-smoke days, as smoke becomes a predictable seasonal hazard.
Transcription
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and if you've spent time outdoors this summer, I probably don't need to tell you. The Canadian wildfires have once again taken a toll on air quality in Washtenaw County and throughout the state of Michigan. I'm David Fair, and welcome to this week's edition of Issues of the Environment. The smoke from those fires is not only a hazard to public health, but it poses short and longer-term dangers to our environment. The environment and health are directly linked. And we have a special guest today to help us connect the dots. Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian is Chief Medical Executive for the state of Michigan. And, Dr. Bagdasarian, welcome to WEMU's Issues of the Environment!
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian: Thank you for having me on!
David Fair: If I'm not mistaken, this has been, or is at least close, to a record summer for the number of days in which air quality advisories or alerts have been issued. On top of that, it's been another hot summer, which naturally raises ozone levels. Those alerts and advisories are issued by the Department of Great Lakes, Environment and Energy. I imagine that you and your team work with EGLE to keep the public informed. Would that be a correct assumption?
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian: We do. We work closely with EGLE. They are really informing about the environmental conditions, and we are informing people about risks to their health and any precautions that they need to take.
David Fair: There have been a lot of hazy days, and we know that there are health implications, particularly for those with respiratory issues and cardiac issues. What danger does inhaling this wildfire smoke pose to those without such health issues?
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian: Well, even for people without a diagnosis of asthma, for example, there can be serious health issues. We're really talking about some of this particulate matter being very, very small. The PM2.5 particles are 25 times smaller than a human hair. So, these are particles that can get deep into the lungs and can even get into the bloodstream. And so, people without those types of health conditions can experience health effects like stinging eyes, wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath. But they can also trigger other long-term health consequences, and exposure, long- term, to these types of particulate matter can even lead to things like premature death.
David Fair: So, it's hard to know what the outcomes are going to be when you're in the middle of such situations as a Canadian wildfire and the environmental problems it causes. How do you go about studying, exploring, and then determining how best to move forward when it comes to longer-term public health impacts?
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian: Well, we work with researchers, not only in our state, but around the country. There are people who specifically focus on air quality and impacts. And we know that we in Michigan are just starting to see some of the impacts of wildfire smoke, but there are other states, there are other countries where pollution--air pollution--has been a long-term consequence of burning materials, for example. These have been things that other communities have been struggling with for some time. And so, unfortunately, as a consequence of these other places where air quality has been an issue for decades, it has given our researcher and scientist colleagues a lot of experience and a lot data to gather.
David Fair: Our Issues of the Environment conversation with Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian continues on 89.1 WEMU. Dr. Bagdasarian is Chief Medical Executive for the state of Michigan. We recently aired a report on WEMU in which a University of Michigan environmental expert said that these kinds of summers are likely to become a staple in Michigan. That's going to increase the need for better climate mitigation and adaptation. How vital is it to public health to advance those environmental efforts?
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian: I think it's really key. You know, we are issuing advisories about what kinds of steps people can take to protect themselves when they're outdoors, what they need to do to protect their air quality indoors. But these are all short-term interventions. And really, we do need some of this longer-term planning to make sure that Michiganders are prepared. You know, we have seen a terrible summer this year. We also saw a terrible summer in 2023 with Canadian wildfire smoke, and you're absolutely correct that we will likely see more summers with this type of air quality.
David Fair: Well, you mentioned there are things that we can do in the here and now. So, while the work is being done on these expansive national and global issues, what should we be doing in our homes to help protect our health and mitigate and adapt to these challenges?
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian: Well, the first thing is to know and understand what your local air quality looks like. So, it's very important to have some sort of app or be monitoring online what the air quality is in your area. One website is AirNow, and that gives you a real-time measure of air quality in your area. And that's important because the different ranges of air quality would lead to different types of precautions being recommended. So, when we have air quality that is at the most unhealthy level, we may issue advice to stay indoors with air conditioning and reduce or limit outdoor activities. If people have to be outdoors, we may even recommend N95 masks that protect against those really small particulates. Taking a look at what the air quality is in your area isn't something that we've normally done in Michigan. We've normally just relied on having healthy air quality. And as that changes, I think it's really important that people are aware of changing air quality levels in their community.
David Fair: The conditions that have been created today are likely to cause health impacts down the road, and everything is connected. So, we're talking environment. We're taking public health. That also impacts the economy. What role are these worsening environmental conditions playing in the ability to create accessible and quality health care?
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian: Well, that's a great question! And you're absolutely right that all of these things are connected. And in fact, we have a term for this that I think people should become more familiar with. And that is "one health." That's the idea that human health is intrinsically linked to the health of the environment and to the health of animal populations. We're seeing this with air quality right now, but we will see this with other things. We will see this with, for example, Lyme disease. We're seeing a change in what's happening with the spread of Lyme disease due to climate change. And as a result, we're seeing more cases of Lyme disease in humans. Now, what this means for health care, it means that we need to have a much tighter connection between health care delivery systems and public health. We need to make sure that our clinicians around the state are aware of some of these changing patterns, are aware emerging threats that may not have been present a decade ago or even a year ago that are now becoming an issue. So, connecting public health and health care is really one of the ways that we can combat this and also having that focus on "one health" is really important.
David Fair: Once again, this is WEMU's Issues of the Environment, and we're talking with Michigan's Chief Medical Executive, Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian. The federal administration--rolling back climate mitigation measures. It's defunding environmental health initiatives. It's also looking to make cuts that could knock significant numbers of Michigan residents off Medicaid rolls. So, when we talked about connecting the dots and connecting people to accessible and quality care, in your role, how are you preparing for what is expected to become a worsening public health crisis?
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian: I have to tell you, I am concerned. I am concerned about people who will lose access to Medicaid. I am concerned about rural hospitals that we have heard may be forced to close with these Medicaid rollbacks. I'm concerned about limited access to health care, especially in certain parts of our state: rural Michigan, of course, being a huge concern to me. So, all of these things are interconnected. How are we preparing? I have to tell you it's difficult. Not only are we seeing declines and cuts to programs like Medicaid and WIC and SNAP, but we're also seeing cuts to public health funding. We're seeing cuts in research. And this is going to be a problem that impacts us, not just in the next few years, but I think this could really have lasting impacts over decades. And so, for your listeners out there, this is a really good time to advocate for programs like Medicaid and WIC and SNAP and other things that we know provide resources to people, but also to advocate public health. We need robust public health systems to keep all of us safe, not just from the next infectious disease pandemic, but from emerging things like this air quality issue that we're seeing.
David Fair: Well, throughout our conversation, we have pointed out that there are certainly going to be a lot of challenges ahead. I'd hopefully like to end our conversation on a positive note. What are you most positive about when it comes to improving the overall well-being of our environment and public health?
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian: You know, I think that there are more people today in 2025 than ever before who are aware of the interplay between human health, environmental health, and animal health. We've had some examples recently with avian influenza. We're seeing this in other ways as well. And I think that raising that awareness can only be a positive thing for people to understand that our overall health and the health of our communities is tied to the health of our environment is so key. So, I'm glad for programs like yours, I'm glad for your listeners, and I'm glad for this increasing awareness of the issue.
David Fair: Well, thank you so much for your time today and for sharing your perspective! Much appreciated!
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian: Thank you for having me on!
David Fair: That is Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Chief Medical Executive for the state of Michigan. She's been our guest on Issues of the Environment. For more information, go to our website at WEMU.org. Issues of the Environment is produced in partnership with the Office of the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner, and you hear it every Wednesday. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti. Celebrating 60 years of broadcasting from the campus of Eastern Michigan University!
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