Practical Considerations When Using Wildfire Smoke Data in Economic Analyses
Paper Number: 2026-02
Document Date: 2/2026
Author(s): Elise Breshears, Dylan Brewer, and Andrew Earle
JEL Classification: C55, Q53, Q54
Keywords: Air pollution, measurement error, wildfire smoke data, wildfire smoke exposure
Abstract: Estimating the impacts of wildfire smoke requires measuring wildfire smoke exposure, but several factors, such as smoke’s transport through the atmosphere and gaps in air quality monitoring networks, make measuring smoke difficult. We provide an overview of the leading wildfire smoke datasets, including NOAA’s Hazard Mapping System smoke plume polygons and statistical approaches that combine the smoke plume polygons with surface-level air quality observations. We discuss how these datasets are produced, highlight potential sources of measurement error, and offer advice to practitioners seeking to estimate the impacts of wildfire smoke.
This paper is part of the Environmental Economics Working Paper Series.
Practical Considerations When Using Wildfire Smoke Data in Economic Analyses (pdf)