The smoke from the Greenwood Fire rose significantly from Monday through Tuesday as the wildfire doubled in size and the air quality in northeastern Minnesota plummeted.

Instead of merely reacting to the crisis, Surapaneni said it is also essential to defuse the crisis as a whole and take action via prevention and planning.

A Report to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published in early August said it is “clear” the planet has warmed by 1.5 degrees Celsius, mainly owing to burning fossil fuels to man.

Climate change is making forest fires longer, more severe and more frequent, so Surapaneni said everyone should all work together to figure out how to protect personal health, as well as collective health.

And while experts can’t say climate change sparked the Greenwood Fire, which at Wednesday totaled almost 22.000 hectares, Surapaneni said such events will continue to happen and will get worse.



University of Minnesota Medical School

The University of Minnesota Medical School is the medical school of the University of Minnesota. It is a combination of two campuses situated in Minneapolis and Duluth, Minnesota. (wikipedia)


CHI St. Luke’s Health

CHI St. Luke’s Health is a health system located in the Greater Houston area. It is a part of one of the largest health systems and the second largest faith-based health system in the United States, (wikipedia)


M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center

M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center previously known as University of Minnesota Medical Center, is an 828-bed non-profit, tertiary, (wikipedia)

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St. Luke’s Medical Center

St. Luke’s Medical Center is a private non-profit health care institution based in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines which operates two hospitals of the same name in Quezon City and Taguig. (wikipedia)


Minnesota

Minnesota ) is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.7 million residents. (wikipedia)