Why air quality should be high on our health agenda

With the Bureau of Meteorology's forecast that there's a 70% likelihood that the El Niño weather pattern is likely to come into play this year, it's inevitable that Australians will remember the last time Australia experienced El Niño. That brought hotter, dryer weather, and with it, devastating bushfires that blanketed parts of Australia in thick smoke for days. Currently, North America is experiencing the same conditions, thanks to the massive bushfires burning in Canada. The smokey conditions can be dangerous because of the reduction in air quality.

Could America's smokey summer be a foretaste of El Niño in Australia Source: AAP / Jose Luis Magana/AP