Environmental Disasters and Health at Birth: Evidence from Wildfires in Spain

Risto Conte Keivabu, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR)
Maria Rubio-Cabañez, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Climate change is increasing fire-conducive weather conditions worldwide determining increased risks of wildfire exposure. Despite growing research on the impacts of wildfires on health outcomes, studies on birth outcomes, sociodemographic heterogeneities and for the European context are lacking. This study investigates the impact of wildfires on birth outcomes in Spain, a country suffering several public health threats due to climate change. We use Spanish administrative data comprising about 3.5 million live births from 2008 to 2021. We connect this data with precise measures of wildfire exposure based on data provided by the European Forest Fires Information System and wildfire related smoke. We observe a decrease in birth weight and increase in low birth weight with exposure to a wildfire and wildfire during gestation and the effect to be concentrated in the third trimester. Exploring heterogeneities, we do not observe major differences between sociodemographic groups. The results highlight the need for public health interventions and policies aimed at mitigating the health impacts of wildfires on vulnerable populations, particularly pregnant people.

Keywords: Population, Environment, and Climate Change, Health and Morbidity, Spatial Demography, Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

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