Bushfire smoke could cause lung problems for generations, US monkey study suggests
Key points:
- Scientists have studied the impact of bushfire smoke on monkeys since 2008
- The monkeys exposed to smoke had 20 per cent less lung capacity
- There are fears that prolonged exposed to smoke could affect human health
PHOTO: The bushfires in Northern California in 2018 left the area shrouded in smoke for several weeks. (Reuters: Leah Millis)
Monkeys in Northern California are providing valuable clues to the health cost of exposure to bushfire smoke, revealing it could have potentially life-threatening consequences for humans.
Large swathes of south-eastern Australia were blanketed in smoke during the recent bushfire crisis, consistently exposing people to unsafe levels of noxious fumes not seen in some of the world's most polluted cities.
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