Tahoe and Reno areas have the worst air quality in the country due to smoke, raising concerns of an increase in Covid

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Smoke from the wildfires would be enough on its own to trigger a health emergency, but combined with the spread of the coronavirus, health experts fear the area downwind of the Caldor fire could be plunged into a crisis.

The Air Quality Index, a measure of poor air quality, hit an astonishing 694 in Tahoe City on Monday, according to AirNow.gov. In Reno on Tuesday, the AQI reached 453. An AQI between 300 and 500 is considered “a health warning of emergency conditions” in which even healthy people are at risk for respiratory illness. An AQI of less than 50 indicates that the air is healthy and poses little or no risk, even to people with respiratory illnesses.

The index has been around or above 300 in the Tahoe and Reno areas every day since Friday.

“For those of you wondering if yesterday’s air quality was the worst on record in the Reno / Sparks area… the answer is an unfortunate yes,” the Reno National Weather Service said. tweeted On Monday.
Emerald Bay of Lake Tahoe is shrouded in smoke from the Caldor fire on Tuesday.
Researchers recently found that smoke from forest fires had a significant impact on the severity of coronavirus cases. A study published this month in the journal Science Advances found that airborne particles from smoke from wildfires in 2020 led to an increase in Covid-19 cases and deaths in California, California. Oregon and Washington.

“What is happening in Lake Tahoe and Reno is of great concern,” Francesca Dominici, a Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health researcher and co-author of the Wildfire Smoke Study, told CNN, ” because we know that exposure to a high level of fine particles can amplify the negative effect of the pandemic. “

Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations have skyrocketed in the Reno area in recent weeks. Coronavirus cases in Washoe County on Monday were up 24% from the previous week and hospitalizations were up more than 18%.

Kevin Dick, the Washoe County District health worker, told CNN that while smoke is having an impact on cases and hospitalizations, it is difficult to attribute recent increases to wildfires, given that 40% of the community is still not vaccinated and that the highly contagious Delta variant constitutes 90% of its cases.

“We know that when high concentrations of smoke are in the air, the most susceptible people are to Covid-19,” Dick said.

Dominici said she expects an increase in hospital admissions for respiratory illnesses, including some that are not associated with Covid-19, in the coming weeks, even after the smoke from the forest fires.

Fine particles, or PM 2.5, are among the smallest but also the most dangerous pollutants, and are a major component of smoke from forest fires, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. When inhaled, it can penetrate deep into lung tissue and enter the bloodstream, and is linked to a number of health complications: asthma, heart disease, chronic bronchitis, and other respiratory illnesses – all conditions. underlying factors that make people vulnerable to serious consequences of Covid19.

Vaccination is essential to prevent the most serious consequences of Covid-19, according to Dominici, who noted that the study only considered unvaccinated people at a time when the most contagious Delta variant had not yet emerged. . And, with more than a third of Washoe County’s population still unvaccinated, she said increased pollution from smoke from wildfires could be even more damaging to health. public.

“Fine particle air pollution may be an additional vehicle to spread the virus even faster,” Dominici said “Whereas we are seeing an increased risk of Delta cases [variant] and we already have forest fires, that’s going to be worrying. “

Smoke from the Caldor Fire is heavy in the air in El Dorado County, Calif., On August 18.

Dr Albert Rizzo, chief medical officer for the American Lung Association, who was not involved in the study, said air pollution from wildfire smoke likely caused inflammation in the lungs.

“Particles are what make the airways a very fertile ground for an uninvited infection like the Covid virus to enter our airways,” Rizzo told CNN. “The immune system is only prepared to try and fight off the effects of a particulate matter and now it has a virus it has to work against as well.”

It’s a dangerous combination, Dominici said. “At the moment, given that we are seeing an increase in risks and cases due to the Delta variant, and that we already have forest fires, this is going to be of concern,” she added.

As the climate crisis accelerates, experts say the public health risks associated with wildfires could worsen. Drought and heat caused by climate change are now lengthening wildfire seasons and leading to more destructive fires, according to the landmark UN report released on Monday.

“Even without Covid, we are concerned that climate change leading to warmer environments and droughts will be fodder for forest fires,” said Rizzo “Then you add the ash and soot from forest fires to air quality, this makes breathing problems much more likely to occur.

Tarik Benmarhnia, a climate change epidemiologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, told CNN that the “repeated nature” of more frequent wildfires could exacerbate long-term impacts on public health. Several studies have shown that short-term exposure to PM 2.5 from wildfire smoke has resulted in increased emergency department visits and hospitalizations.
Childhood Covid cases in the United States have reached one of its highest pandemic rates. Experts warn it could get worse

Some communities are also at greater risk of being exposed to smoke from wildfires, including people with heart or lung disease, the elderly, the homeless, children and infants.

The Washoe County School District closed all schools, including those in Reno, Sparks and parts of Lake Tahoe on Monday due to unsafe air quality. In a separate study published in April, Benmarhnia and her colleagues found that smoke from wildfires was sending children 19 and under to emergency rooms with respiratory problems at higher rates than ever before.

“Children inhale a lot more air than we do, and their respiratory systems are still developing,” he said. “So they are much more vulnerable than adults and that could be a very dangerous situation.”

As smoke from forest fires wafts through the area, Dominici said it was important for people in affected areas to get vaccinated if they haven’t already.

“If they are not vaccinated, especially for people who already have respiratory diseases and asthma or who are smokers, they really need to get vaccinated as soon as possible, and to avoid exposure to fine materials by staying indoors with the windows closed, ”she said. noted.

CNN’s Jen Christensen contributed to this report.



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