How to protect yourself from wildfire smoke

Extreme wildfires are becoming more common, more intense and more of a pressing problem for public health. This week, more than 20,000 people in Northern California evacuated their homes as flames destroyed houses and cars.

Wildfire smoke presents its own challenge. There is most likely no safe level of exposure to wildfire smoke, said Jennifer Stowell, a climate and health research scientist at the Boston University School of Public Health. But there are precautions you can take to minimize its toll on your health.

What to look for

Don't rely on only your eyes to determine when the air quality is poor, said Dr Panagis Galiatsatos, a pulmonary and critical care medicine physician at Johns Hopkins Medicine. Get in the habit of checking air quality indexes every day, especially in the summer, when wildfires are more common. You can look at AirNow.Gov for a...