ByKatia Hetter, CNN

Updated 7:36 AM EDT, Tue June 13, 2023

https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/13/health/wildfire-smoke-asthma-health-wellness/index.html

VIDEO: How wildfire smoke can affect your health

03:22- Source:CNNCNN—

Smoke from more than 430 active wildfires in Canada spread south last week and led to the worst pollution the New York and Washington regions have ever experienced. More than75 million peoplein the eastern US were under air quality alerts as wildfire smoke shrouded major cities. Some flights were grounded, events were canceled, and millions of people breathed unhealthy air.

Much of the smoke has dissipated, but people still have questions. Do we need to be concerned about air quality? What are the short-term effects of wildfire smoke inhalation? Are there long-term consequences? And how can people prepare for future wildfires, which, according to theUN Environment Program,will be even more frequent and more severe going forward?

Wildfire smoke is bad…