There’s been a push to increase outdoor air since the pandemic, but the recent Canadian wildfires show the health benefits of doing so are more complicated. There are several steps engineers can take to keep out pollutants and other airborne hazards.
The smoke from wildfires consists of small particulates that can flow over a large area. In the case of June’s largest wildfires, smoke moved from central Canada all the way to the East Coast. This caused the worst day of air quality on record in New York City.