Today marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year celebrations, and we at Austin Air would like to wish those celebrating much good fortune, happiness, wealth and longevity! The New Year brings about the start of ‘Chunyun’ – China’s Spring Festival travel season, lasting 40-days and culminating with the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the […]
As fires continue to burn across California this week, it is clear this is the most destructive forest fire the state has ever seen. So far 50 people have lost their lives, local wildlife has perished, hundreds of thousands of acres have burned and more than 9,000 structures have been destroyed, many of them homes. […]
First let’s take a look at what it is. Primarily smoke is made up of Particulate Matter (PM). That’s microscopic particles of 2.5 micrometers or less. To get some perspective, a human hair is 70 micrometers across. Add to that, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, irritant volatile organic compounds (VOC’s for short) gases and […]
In 2018 wildfires in the US reached record levels. More destructive and more deadly, last year’s wave of ‘Super Fires’ had a huge impact on people’s health. It’s no surprise that visits to the ER soared, as people suffered with asthma and other respiratory problems. However, a new line of research suggests that exposure to […]
Recent wildfires in the US gave scientists their first opportunity to test what’s known as the ‘Nuclear Winter Theory’. The Nuclear Winter Theory is a term used to describe weather conditions after a nuclear war. A nuclear explosion would create enough smoke to block sunlight, lower the earths temperature, change global weather and eventually cause […]
California & Texas Residents: if you have been affected by this, call us at 1-800-724-8403 The massive plumes of smoke spreading from the enormous fires in Southern California & Texas are causing respiratory distress in thousands of people. Wildfire smoke contains not only toxic chemicals but also tiny particles that can clog the respiratory systems of […]
Summertime in the US and Canada can mean many people often live with the threat of forest fires. For those people living nearby there is the very obvious and direct threat of fire. But the health of the wider population is also affected. Haze from fires, combined with hot and humid weather can result in […]
We talked last month about the threat of forest fires during the summer months. Even now that threat is still very real for many people living in western Canada and the west coast of the USA. Many fires have been contained but there are still a significant number causing havoc. Large numbers of people have been evacuated from their […]
Last week Wednesday I landed at Sacramento airport in California for a long visit with a friend in Mokelumne Hill, about ninety minutes south of the state capital. On our way to Calaveras County (famous for its jumping frogs), my friend received a message from a neighbor to let her know that a wildfire had […]
This weekend we have seen three separate fires burn out of control across Colorado, New Mexico and California. Hundreds of families have been forced to leave their homes, while firefighters work to control the fires. At the time of writing this article, thousands of acres of land have been destroyed and some outbuildings have also […]
