US government urged to declare wildfire smoke and extreme heat major disasters | Extreme heat

Fourteen state attorneys general are urging the federal government to declare extreme heat and wildfire smoke major disasters. The petition comes as millions of people in the south and north-east face excessive heat advisories, and large swaths of the western US and Canada battle ongoing wildfires.

“The likelihood of high-severity extreme heat and wildfire smoke events is increasing due in part to climate change,” wrote the Arizona attorney general, Kris Mayes, in a letter submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday. “We urge Fema to update its regulations to prepare for this hotter, smokier future.”

Extreme heat and wildfire smoke are not recognized by Fema as major disasters. In June, a coalition of environmental, labor and health groups petitioned the federal agency to grant that recognition under the Stafford Act which oversees disaster relief.

“Across the country people are suffering and dying from extreme heat,” Jean Su, energy justice director and senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “Fema can bring a mass mobilization of resources to deploy life-saving cooling centers, air conditioning and community solar. But so far Fema’s only shown these communities piecemeal efforts and lackluster leadership.”

Last year, 2,300 people died from heat exposure, with 874 deaths occurring in Arizona. In 2022, the state recorded 1,030 deaths related to excessive heat, and more than 4,000 hospital or emergency room visits for heat-related illness.

“These preventable deaths are occurring both inside and outside,” said Mayes in a statement. “Extreme heat and wildfire smoke events are devastating because of their severe impact on public health and the environment. Updating Fema’s regulations to include these events will provide much-needed resources and help us better protect our residents.”

Extreme heat is responsible for more weather-related deaths in the US annually than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined. And even low levels of exposure to wildfire smoke can worsen conditions such as asthma and heart and lung disease. The letter references last year’s wildfire smoke from Canada that blanketed much of US midwest and the east coast in an orange haze.

Millions of Americans and Canadians are exposed to worsening air quality from ongoing wildfires and toxic smoke in California, Utah, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, as well as Canada.

In addition to Mayes of Arizona, the letter was backed by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington DC.