bushfire smoke
The Centre for Safe Air’s submission to the ACCU Savanna Fire Management Methods consultation argues that carbon crediting schemes must account for the significant health impacts of landscape fire smoke on Northern Territory communities. The submission emphasises that air pollution is “the single greatest environmental threat to human health” and that Darwin experiences Australia’s most severe PM2.5 pollution, with “95% of the air pollution problem… due to landscape fires.” Evidence indicates that early dry‑season pollution has worsened since ACCU savanna‑burning projects began.
Bushfire smoke is a common asthma trigger with a range of additional health risks. Use this Bushfire Smoke Asthma Plan to choose the steps you will take to stay safe.
The Bushfire Smoke Health Plan is a practical guide designed to help individuals reduce health risks during bushfire smoke events. It explains how air quality is measured using PM2.5 levels and provides clear actions for different air quality categories, from fair to extremely poor. The plan includes steps to monitor health, minimize smoke exposure, and maintain mental wellbeing. It outlines preparation strategies—such as sealing homes, creating clean air shelters, and stocking masks and medications—as well as recovery actions once conditions improve. Special attention is given to vulnerable groups, including older adults, young children, pregnant individuals, and those with chronic health conditions. The plan encourages proactive planning, regular air quality checks, and communication with healthcare providers to stay safe during and after smoke events.
Bushfire smoke can harm your health, especially if you live with a lung disease (like asthma), live with another long-term illness (like heart disease and diabetes), are over 65 or a child under 5, or are pregnant. The best ways to avoid smoke are to: Close doors and windows to help protect you during short episodes of outdoor smoke, wear a P2/N95 mask outdoors and indoors if needed, use an air cleaner with a HEPA filter indoors, check local air quality using a trusted app (e.g. AirRater), and think about visiting a place with cleaner air like a library or a shopping centre.
As Australians, we think about landscape fires primarily in terms of bushfire disasters. But this is only part of the picture. In this webinar Fay Johnston, Director of the Centre for Safe Air and Professor at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, presented a lecture titled: Climate change, landscape fires, and human health: understanding fire phenotypes. A newly published global synthesis led by Professor Johnston describes seven ‘phenotypes’ of landscape fire around the world, each with distinct patterns in their health and environmental impacts. In this talk, Professor Johnston explains how a more nuanced model of landscape fire can help us to design interventions at individual, community, and regional levels to maximise the benefits and minimise the harms associated with fire in the landscape. Dr Amanda Wheeler chaired the session and moderated an open discussion on the subject.
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