Health experts tell the Bushfire Royal Commission smoke from the Black Summer bushfires that raged across Australia killed nearly 450 people and affected 80 per cent of the population.
Health experts have told the Bushfire Royal Commission smoke from the Black Summer bushfires that raged across Australia killed nearly 450 people and affected 80 per cent of the population.
Associate Professor Fay Johnston from the Menzies Institute for Medical Research at the University of Tasmania said her team estimated around 445 people died as a result of the smoke, over 3,000 people were admitted to hospital for respiratory problems and 1,700 people presented for asthma. "There's fluctuation year to year, of course, but that was a major departure from anything we had seen in the previous 20 years."
"I think what we can do right now is get better at how we share information about smoke to members of the community," she said.
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