BALTIMORE — The wildfire smoke wafting down from Canada blanketed Maryland on Friday, prompting air quality alerts and raising concerns about the health and financial toll of increasingly frequent pollution events.
Despite warnings that the air was unhealthy for everyone, some Baltimore residents still ventured outside to take in the smoky skyline from Federal Hill Park.
"You can see the haze. It's a big difference," Jerome Wright said.
Wildfire smoke triggers health concerns and could cost millions for Marylanders, according to research
Wright visits the park often to listen to smooth jazz. Though aware of the air quality alerts, he was not deterred.
"I got a routine, and you know I had a plan, if it started bothering me, I was going to go in," Wright said.
Cameron Coates was also at the park but had second thoughts about staying when he learned the source of the hazy skies.
"There's elderly out here, kids out here," he said. "I don't think this is safe to breathe in at all."
Maryland experienced a similar wildfire smoke pollution event three years ago in June 2023. Dr. Zafar Zafari, an associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, said these events are becoming more common.
"The frequency of these wildfires has increased as well as the intensity," he said.
While the immediate impacts are visible, the true health and financial burden are harder to measure. But to better prepare for these unexpected events, Zafari took a look at the data from June 2023.
More specifically, the six days when the particulate matter was particularly bad due to wildfire smoke and compared it to historical data.
"When we analyzed the data, we estimated an approximately 20% increase in the odds of cardiopulmonary healthcare visits, and that includes inpatient visits, outpatient visits, and emergency room visits," Zafari said.
Researchers calculated the associated healthcare costs and productivity losses at $2.4 million. Both the statistic and that figure came from the 12 hospital facilities within the University of Maryland Medical System.
"Potentially the statewide impact is much larger than that," Zafari said.
Zafari said preventive measures such as wearing face masks and limiting outdoor activity are the best solutions, and could save an estimated 13 to 24% of those costs.
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