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How smoke impacts health
Most healthy people tolerate brief smoke exposure quite well.
But some people are more sensitive to smoke than others, including:
- people with asthma or other lung conditions
- people with heart and blood vessel disease like angina, heart failure and stroke
- people with diabetes
- pregnant women
- babies and young children
- older people.
If you are in one of the categories above, it is important to manage your health and reduce your exposure to the smoke as much as possible.
Anyone may experience the following symptoms as a result of smoke exposure:
- eye, nose and throat irritation
- coughing
- sneezing
- congestion.
However, those more sensitive to smoke may experience worsening of existing health conditions. Smoke can for example:
- trigger asthma
- worsen heart disease.
In addition, smoke may be a risk because of reduced visibility and road safety.
Preparing for smoke events
Smoke can come from a variety of sources such as bushfires, planned burns, private burn-offs, agricultural burns and wood heaters. Be prepared for smoke at any time of year.
- Keep up to date with planned burns near you by signing up to receive notifications or download the VicEmergency app.
- Check for gaps in doors and windows. You can prepare your home before a smoke event by identifying any gaps and sealing these where possible. If sealing gaps is not possible, wet towels can be used to cover gaps when there is smoke outside.
- Switch air-conditioners to recirculate or reuse air. If they do not have that function, turn them off.
- Ensure you always have at least 5 days’ supply of medication on hand. If you or a family member has a heart or lung condition, including asthma, always make sure there is enough medication on hand to last at least 5 days.
- Know where to find information. Information about air quality in your local area can be found on EPA’s AirWatch.
- There are some circumstances where masks or indoor air cleaners may assist with reducing exposure Find out if indoor air cleaners or face masks are appropriate for you and your family.
What to do when it’s smoky outside
Ways to reduce your exposure to smoke
If you see or smell smoke outside you should reduce your exposure to smoke.
- Stay indoors – but only if it’s safe to do so.
- Reduce outdoor physical activity, especially if you develop symptoms like cough or shortness of breath.
- Keep track of conditions and consider closing windows and doors until outdoor air quality is better.
- Use a portable air cleaner with a HEPA filter if you have access to one. Fact sheet – Smoke and portable indoor air cleaners
- Use a P2 or N95 mask when outdoors. If you have a pre-existing heart or lung condition, seek advice from your doctor if you experience difficulty breathing while wearing a mask.
- Go to a place with cleaner air (such as an air-conditioned building like a library or shopping centre) if it is safe to do so.
- Follow the treatment plan recommended by your doctor.
- If you or anyone in your care has trouble breathing or tightness in the chest, call 000 for an ambulance.
- Signs of short-term smoke discomfort such as eye, nose and throat irritation and coughing usually clear up in healthy adults once away from the smoke.
- Stay informed. Check the EPA air quality webpage. This will help to plan your activities and know when to ventilate your home or facility when outdoor air quality improves.
When smoke events such as from bushfires or other landscape fires are likely to go on for longer than a few days, staying indoors is not always possible. So despite it being important for your health to exercise:
Avoid vigorous outdoor exercise when air quality conditions are poor.
This is especially important for higher-risk people. Indoor exercise is okay if indoor air quality is good.
Face masks (P2/N95/KN95)
It’s better to stay indoors away from the smoke, unless you can’t avoid being outside.
Ordinary paper dust masks, handkerchiefs and bandannas don’t filter out fine particles from smoke.
Special face masks called P2/N95/KN95 masks filter smoke and give your lungs better protection. You can buy them from most hardware stores.
Before wearing a P2/N95/KN95 mask, you should understand:
- they can make it harder for you to breathe normally, therefore you should consider seeking medical advice before using one if you have a pre-existing heart or lung condition
- they can be hot and uncomfortable to wear
- they need to be changed regularly to work properly
- if the seal around the face is poor, the mask won’t work well
- if you usually have facial hair, your face should be clean shaven to get a good seal
- the masks don’t filter out gases like carbon monoxide
This fact sheet from the Department of Health Victoria has more information about smoke masks.
Pets, animals and smoke
Keep pets and animals inside with clean water, food and bedding if possible.
Ash and soot on animals may impact their health when they groom themselves. Wash them as you normally would with pet shampoo to remove anything covering their fur or feathers.
Signs of smoke inhalation in animals can include:
- coughing
- faster breathing rate or difficulties with breathing.
Contact a local vet if you have concerns about the health of your pets.
Contact the Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action (DEECA) on 136 186 if you have concerns about the health of your animals.
Rainwater tanks
Don’t use water from your rainwater tank for drinking or bathing if it looks, smells or tastes unusual. This includes using rainwater for your pets.
More information about bushfires and your private drinking water supply is available from the Department of Health.
For information on rainwater tank quality, contact:
How to assess air quality and health risks
EPA measures air quality at different areas around the state. You can check current air quality at EPA Airwatch.
If you don’t have access to AirWatch, you can look at landmarks. They become harder to see when there’s smoke in the air.
To visually assess air quality:
- Estimate the distance from you to a landmark that’s just visible (you can just see it).
- Use this estimated distance and the table below to identify the air health category and the advised activity levels based on your sensitivity to smoke.
| Air quality category | Landmark visible from home |
| Good | greater than 20km |
| Fair | between 10km to 20km |
| Poor | between 5km to 10 km |
| Very poor | between 1.5km to 5 km |
| Extremely poor | 1.5km or less |
Activity levels based on air health category and smoke sensitivity
| Category | Pm2.5
1-hour average (µg/m3) |
Sensitive groups | Everyone else |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good | 0-25 |
|
|
| Fair | 25-50 |
|
|
| Poor |
50-100 The air is likely to be dusty or smoky |
|
|
| Very poor | 100-300 The air is very dusty or smoky |
|
|
| Extremely poor |
> 300 The air is very dusty or smoky |
|
|
Factsheets about smoke and fire recovery
Includes languages other than English:
English-language factsheets:
- Assessing health risk from smoke (publication 1742)
- Smoke and your health (publication 1743)
- Smoke and portable indoor air cleaners (publication 1809)
- Smoke and carbon monoxide from peat fires (publication 1831)
- Incident air monitoring (publication 1726)
- After a fire: asbestos hazards (publication 1719)
- After a fire: cleaning up a smoke-affected home (publication 1711)
- Disposal of bushfire waste (including perished stock) (publication 1738)
- Fact sheet: ash (publication 1724)
- Ash from copper chrome arsenate (CCA) treated timber (publication 1720)
- Fire retardants and health (publication 1721)
- Firewater run-off (publication 1722)
- Industrial fires (publication 1723)
- Air quality and outdoor activity: guide for schools and early childhood centres (publication 1816)
For help with English, call the Translating and Interpreting Service on free call 131 450.
Read more about smoke
Your health and the environment: learn and take action
Watch our videos about smoke
Smoke is a mixture of different-sized particles, water vapour and gases. The biggest health threat from smoke comes from fine particles like Larry.
Some people are more sensitive to the effects of smoke exposure. People over the age of 65 years, smokers and people with pre-existing heart or lung conditions may experience adverse health effects earlier and at lower smoke concentrations than healthy people.
Smoke can affect your health. To minimise the potential health impacts, everyone should avoid breathing in smoke.
Reviewed 28 June 2024
