(Iowa City) — Research from the University of Iowa shows a 20% increase in the number of large wildfires in the United States last year is damaging air quality in Iowa and other Midwestern states.
The data suggest fires have reversed progress the region had made in reducing emissions from other sources. Nearly 79,000 wildfires scorched more than 5 million acres in 2025, up sharply from the previous year.
Jun Wang, a biochemical engineering professor at the University of Iowa, said emissions from vehicles and power plants had been reduced, improving air quality in the region. But he said the increase in wildfires is pushing that trend in the opposite direction…