Research published Monday in the Environmental Science & Technology journal indicates that wildfires create even more air pollution than we realize. Some of the compounds released during these blazes have been overlooked, the study authors said.
“Our new estimates increase the organic compound emissions from wildland fires by about 21%,” says Lyuyin Huang, the first author of the study, which looked at a database of land that burned from 1997 through 2023. “The inventory provides a foundation for more detailed air-quality modeling, health-risk assessment and climate-related policy analysis.”
According to a press release from the American Chemical Society (publisher of the Environmental Science & Technology journal), some of the compounds released during wildfires – such as the massive fires that tore through the LA area during the early months of 2025 – include carbon-based compounds, gases called volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Other compounds from wildfires evaporate and turn into gases at warmer temperatures. These are known as intermediate- and semi-volatile organic compounds (IVOCs and SVOCs).
“And in the air, these partially-volatile compounds form fine particles – pollutants that can be harmful if breathed in – more easily than VOCs,” said the society. Most studies overlook these pollutants because of their high number, it added.
Audacy has already reported on research linking wildfires to negative health outcomes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, research indicated that the smoke made symptoms of the illness worse. In addition to links between wildfire pollution and both respiratory and cardiac problems, research published in 2024 also linked it to poor learning and memory in children.
To study IVOCs and SVOCs emissions and get a better idea of the impact of wildfire pollution, researchers led by Shuxiao Wang accessed a database of the burned land area for global forest, grass and peatland wildland fires from 1997 to 2023. They also collected data on the VOCs, IVOCs, SVOCs emitted as each type of vegetation burns.
“Altogether, the researchers estimated wildland fires released an average of 143 million tons of airborne organic compounds each year of the study,” said the American Chemical Society. At 21% higher than earlier estimates, this suggests “that wildland fire emissions, specifically the IVOCs and SVOCs, could cause more air pollution than previously thought.”