Cascading Impacts of Wildfire Emissions on Air Quality, Human Health, and Climate Change Based on Literature Review

Wildfires are a major source of greenhouse gases (GHGs), particulate matter (PM), and atmospheric pollutants, exerting widespread impacts on air quality, human health, and global climate. To address knowledge gaps, this study conducts a literature review of GHG emissions from wildfires across diverse ecosystems and fire regimes. The analysis quantifies emission magnitudes and compositions, evaluates their influence on regional and global climate processes, and synthesizes trends and methodological advances. Results show that the burned area is the main determinant of total emissions, with CO2 as a robust predictor for estimated CO and CH4, reflecting coupled emission behavior under varying combustion conditions. The Modified Combustion Efficiency (MCE) demonstrates a stronger predictive capacity for the CO/CO2 ratio than for CH4/CO2, suggesting that CO/CO2 can be predicted from MCE. Complete combustion dominates most fire events, while incomplete combustion increases the release of CO, CH4, N2O, and PM, contributing to tropospheric ozone formation and enhanced radiative forcing. Exposure to PM2.5 and ozone remains a major health concern in fire-affected regions. This review provides a quantitative synthesis linking combustion efficiency and GHG co-variability, offering insights to refine emission modeling and guide climate mitigation strategies.