Globally, wildfires are intensifying and becoming more frequent, significantly altering the atmospheric composition due to the emitted smoke aerosol and fire-related gaseous emissions. Smoke particles interact with radiation and cloud microphysics, as well as affecting on the biosphere and human health. Extreme wildfires that trigger the formation of pyrocumulonimbus clouds can inject smoke aerosols into the stratosphere, where they can have long-lasting climate effects similar to those of volcanic eruptions. Increasingly frequent climate extremes and wildfires, such as those experienced in the summer of 2026, and shifting patterns of wildfires change atmospheric smoke distributions. Thus, it is crucial to understand the interconnected processes from smoke formation to its impacts.
The aim of this interdivisional session is therefore to bring together scientists from different disciplines to explore the impact of wildfire smoke and co-emitted aerosol particles, such as bioaerosols and dust, on atmospheric processes, air quality, and biosphere dynamics. Possible contributions include, but are not limited to:
• Characterization of the emission, transport, and deposition processes of smoke and its interaction with other aerosol particles
• Interactions of smoke and related aerosol particles with atmosphere, radiation, clouds, and climate including large-scale effects
• Relation between vegetation, burning conditions, and smoke properties
• Chemical composition and atmospheric ageing of smoke particles
• Modelling, remote sensing, and field and laboratory studies of all processes from smoke formation to its atmospheric impacts
• Impacts of wildfire emissions on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
• Health effects of smoke
By integrating research from atmospheric science, chemical analysis, combustion physics, vegetation ecology, and other disciplines, we aim to clarify the complex relationships between wildfires, smoke formation, transport, and ageing, and their effects on the environment.