EXPERT REACTION: The unprecedented health costs of Australia's last bushfire season
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The most recent bushfire season in Australia racked up smoke-related health costs of around $1.95 billion, according to Aussie researchers. The team looked at the last 20 fire seasons, and found the 2019-2020 season was particularly dramatic, with an estimated 429 smoke-related premature deaths, 3,230 hospital admissions for heart and breathing disorders, and 1,523 emergency department visits for asthma. The cost of the most recent season is well above the next highest estimate of $566 million in the 2002-03 season, and more than nine times the average annual bushfire-associated costs for the previous 10 years at $211 million. With a changing climate, these impacts will only continue and may become more dramatic, the researchers add.
Journal/conference: Nature Sustainability
Link to research (DOI): 10.1038/s41893-020-00610-5
Organisation/s: Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, The University of Sydney, The University of New South Wales, The University of Melbourne, University of Technology Sydney, Monash University, James Cook University, La Trobe University
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Expert Reaction
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