New York, Jan 11: People who have limited access to air conditioning may be at higher risk of seeking emergency care for health problems following exposure to wildfire smoke, according to a new study led by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) in the US, as Los Angeles County battles the most destructive wildfires in its history.

The study suggested that US policies should prioritise equity and education regarding the measures people can take to protect themselves from the harmful pollutants in wildfire smoke.

Posted online ahead of publication in the journal Environmental Research: Health, the study found that exposure to fine particle matter (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke in California is associated with higher rates of emergency department visits for all causes, non-accidental causes, and respiratory disease.

This risk varied by age and race, but was especially high for individuals who lived in areas with lower availability of air conditioning.

“Depending on the type of system and filter used, air conditioning may modify the impact of smoke exposure on human health,” said study lead and corresponding author Dr. Jennifer Stowell, research scientist in climate and health at BUSPH.

“California is, perhaps, the best example of this in the US, with bigger fires and longer fire seasons. An important next step will be to identify ways to better characterise access to air conditioning,” Stowell added.

The findings come at a critical time as firefighters in Southern California continue to battle multiple wildfires that have been blazing in and around Los Angeles County since Tuesday (January 7) — including the Palisades fire, which is likely the largest and most destructive wildfire in the county’s history.

Health experts are urging residents who are not under evacuation orders and can safely remain in their homes to turn on air conditioners and/or air purifiers if they have access to these devices.

Despite this guidance, very little research has examined how the health effects of wildfire smoke exposure may differ based on individuals’ access to air conditioning.

For the study, Dr Stowell and colleagues from BUSPH, Boston University College of Arts & Sciences (CAS), and the Health Effects Institute utilised a nationwide dataset of healthcare claims to assess more than 50,000 emergency department visits during the 2012-2019 California wildfire seasons, which occurred from May to November each year.

People living in areas with lower availability of air conditioning had a 22-per cent greater risk of visiting the emergency department for respiratory conditions associated with wildfire smoke exposure.

The study indicates a need for stronger policy measures that can reduce the health risks associated with wildfire smoke exposure.

Gaza, Jan 11: Israeli airstrikes claimed the lives of at least 22 Palestinians, including a journalist, as fuel shortages threaten to plunge Gaza into a communications blackout, officials warned.

The Civil Defence in Gaza reported eight fatalities and several injuries from an airstrike targeting a group of people and a house in the Shuja’iyya neighbourhood of Gaza City. Later, an airstrike on the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed seven people.

In southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, medical officials at Nasser Hospital said that four bodies were recovered after aerial and artillery attacks struck multiple locations in the city. In Al-Nuseirat, central Gaza, Al-Awda Hospital reported three deaths, including journalist Sa’ed Nabhan of Al-Ghad TV, and six injuries from artillery shelling and drone strikes.

With the death of Nabhan, the number of journalists killed since the conflict began on October 7, 2023, has risen to 203, according to the government media office in Gaza. Meanwhile, Gaza’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Abdul Razzaq Al-Natsha, warned that communication services, including internet and landlines, could be cut off by Friday night due to fuel shortages. The lack of fuel, exacerbated by Israel’s blockade of humanitarian supplies, threatens to disrupt emergency services and worsen the already dire humanitarian crisis, he said.

The ongoing conflict, now surpassing 460 days, began after a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which left over 1,200 Israelis dead and roughly 250 hostages taken. Israel’s large-scale military response in Gaza has caused over 46,000 Palestinian deaths, according to Gaza health authorities.

In another incident, Five people were killed and four others injured on Friday in an Israeli airstrike targeting Tayr Debba, a municipality in southern Lebanon’s Tyre district, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported.

According to the official National News Agency, an Israeli drone targeted a car in Tayr Debba, killing five and wounding four more, all of whom have been transferred to hospitals in Tyre.

Separately, the General Directorate of Civil Defence on Friday announced the recovery of five bodies it said were killed during recent Israeli strikes on the Lebanese town of Khiam, east of southern Lebanon.

Despite a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, which took effect on November 27, 2024, Israel has conducted intermittent strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, some of which have caused casualties.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Friday that Israeli aircraft struck a vehicle loaded with weapons belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

The airstrike was launched after the IDF found several militants loading weapons onto the truck, according to the statement.

Earlier in the day, the IDF said in a separate statement that during searching operations in a southern Lebanese village, Israeli soldiers discovered a multi-barrel rocket launcher, hundreds of mortar shells, explosive devices, and RPG rifles inside a structure. It added that anti-tank fire positions and hidden weapons were also located nearby.

During another operation, Israeli troops found a weapons storage facility containing dozens of shoulder-launched missiles, explosive charges, and extensive military equipment, the IDF said, adding that all the weapons were either confiscated or dismantled.

Los Angeles: The two biggest wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area have killed 10 people so far and burned at least 10,000 homes, buildings and other structures, officials said Thursday as they urged more people to heed evacuation orders after a new blaze ignited and quickly grew.

The fast-moving Kenneth Fire started in the late afternoon in the San Fernando Valley just 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from a school serving as a shelter for fire evacuees and then moved into neighbouring Ventura County by the evening.

Only hours earlier officials expressed encouragement after firefighters aided by calmer winds and help from crews from outside the state saw the first signs of successfully beating back the region’s devastating wildfires that have killed 10 people so far.

“We are expecting this fire to rapidly spread due to high winds,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said, echoing the forecast that called for winds to strengthen Thursday evening through Friday morning.