Air quality ‘off the charts’ as fires rage in US, sounding health alarms

Recent large-scale fires in the U.S. are impacting the environment with an alarming destructive force, releasing large amounts of harmful gases and particulate matter and worsening air quality. In some of the fires in California, the air quality index in the surrounding areas has exploded, and the concentration of PM2.5 and other pollutants has exceeded the standard, which can easily cause respiratory illnesses and threaten people’s life and health after inhalation.