Two related and recently published studies by teams led by UCLA Fielding School of Public Health researchers aim to help people make safer choices during wildfires.
Two related and recently published studies by teams led by UCLA Fielding School of Public Health researchers aim to help people make safer choices during wildfires.
One study, which analyzed air quality data from federal monitoring stations, low-cost sensors and satellites during the 2025 Los Angeles fires, found each source had its advantages and disadvantages. In the other, a retrospective study of the 2018 fires in California, researchers discovered that the 10 largest fires accounted for nearly all downwind concentrations of tiny airborne particles.
“Wildfires can degrade air quality in downwind communities,” said Miriam Marlier, assistant professor in the Fielding School’s department of environmental health sciences and a co-author of both studies. “By integrating data from multiple sources — ground monitors, atmospheric models and satellites — our research aims to provide a more complete picture of smoke exposure during wildfire events.”
The researchers looked at measurements of dangerous airborne particles that are less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, or 30 times smaller than a human hair, known as PM2.5.
Read More: University of California – Los Angeles
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