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Wildfire

Smoke from massive wildfires in Canada engulfed the New York City skyline, reducing visibility and casting an orange haze over city on July 16, 2026.

From 22,000 Miles Up, This Satellite Tracks Airborne Health Threats Almost in Real Time

The new instrument, called TEMPO, captures hourly snapshots of the pollutants swirling in the daytime atmosphere over North America—“chemical weather” reports that are helpful to public health researchers and government officials

In the bitter chill of a six-degrees Fahrenheit morning in Olathe, Kansas, firefighters respond to a duplex fire. Working quickly despite the cold, they stopped the fire’s advance and saved the adjoining unit from damage.

These 15 Riveting Photos of Firefighters in Action Showcase the Strength and Courage They Need to Risk Their Lives to Save Others

On the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, take in this collection of images pulled from the archives of the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

Beachgoers rested at Lake Lacanau's Moutchic Beach in southwestern France last week, as clouds of smoke rose into the sky from the Gironde wildfire.

Dangerous ‘Fire Clouds’ Are Making France’s Wildfires Even More Destructive

It’s the first time the phenomenon, which is fairly common in North America, has been observed in France

Koala conservation is a complex balancing act in Australia. In some regions, populations are in steep decline, but in others, the animals are overabundant.

Koalas Are at Risk of Extinction in Some Parts of Australia. Can Freezing Their Sperm and Eggs Help Save the Iconic Marsupials?

Scientists are preserving the animals’ reproductive cells in liquid nitrogen in a bid to boost genetic diversity in future populations

By combining ecological data-gathering with philosophical contemplation, Leopold bridged the art and science of conservation.

America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

In the Early 1900s, a Young Ecologist Shot a Wolf and Watched the Life Leave Its Eyes. That Changed His Position on Conservation

Aldo Leopold’s writing reconsidered the place of humans in the natural world and challenged people to be less conquerors of the land and more citizens of it

The McDougall Creek wildfire burns in the hills of British Columbia, Canada, on August 17, 2023. Evacuation orders were put in place for areas near Kelowna, as the fire threatened the city of around 150,000.

Ancient Humans Mastered Fire. Now, Burning Fossil Fuels and Blazing Landscapes Threaten to ‘Undo the World’

Intensifying wildfires across the continent are spewing air pollution, putting human health at risk, particularly Americans living with chronic illnesses

The fire-loving fungus Geopyxis, seen here in 2022, after California’s Caldor Fire, has distinctive brown cups with white rims.

These Charcoal-Eating Fungi Flourish After Fires. Uncovering Their Genetic Secrets Could Help Rebuild Burned Ecosystems

Mycologists cultivated fungi they found in post-wildfire landscapes to understand the evolutionary traits behind their ability to thrive in the wake of flames

Jaguars in Porto Jofre, Brazil, support a lucrative tourism industry, leading conservationists to argue that the big cats are most valuable when they’re alive.

In the World’s Best Place to See Wild Jaguars, Residents Are Using the Big Cat’s Appeal to Reach Conservation Goals

Brazil’s Pantanal region has the highest jaguar density on Earth, drawing camera-toting visitors to its riverbanks. Despite overtourism concerns, one enclave may offer a model for how to protect the charismatic apex predator

Wu’s innovation won the top prize of $25,000 at the 2025 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge.

This 14-Year-Old Is Using Origami to Imagine Emergency Shelters That Are Sturdy, Cost-Efficient and Easy to Deploy

Miles Wu folded a variant of the Miura-ori pattern that can hold 10,000 times its own weight

Our most-read stories of the year spotlighted a Eugène Delacroix painting, horseshoe crabs, the Dionne quintuplets and more.

Ten Top Smithsonian Stories of 2025, From Eerie Clay Puppets With Detachable Heads to a New Look at the American Revolution

The magazine’s most-read articles of the year included a deep dive on the Scopes “monkey trial,” an interview with award-winning documentarians and a profile of quintuplets who found fame during the Great Depression

In 2025, researchers watched an interstellar comet, learned about human origins and traced the spread of measles.

The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2025, From Medical Breakthroughs to an Interstellar Visitor

All year long, these moments captivated the public, demonstrated dangerous trends, and pushed research and innovation forward

An artist's interpretation of an early human ancestor striking flint on a piece of iron pyrite.

New Research

Could These 400,000-Year-Old Rock Fragments Be the Oldest Known Evidence of Human Fire-Making?

Evidence from a site in southeast England suggests early humans were purposefully and repeatedly igniting blazes roughly 350,000 years earlier than previously thought

Nineteen-year-olds Marta Bernardino and Sebastião Mendonça are developing a robot capable of reaching and reforesting areas where humans have been unable to.

Two College Students Are Building a Robot to Replant Burned Forests

Marta Bernardino and Sebastião Mendonça invented Trovador, a four-legged, A.I.-powered robot that can plant trees in hard-to-reach, wildfire-damaged terrain

An aerial view of Altadena on March 11, 2025, shows surviving trees and new greenery amid homes destroyed in the Eaton Fire.

After the L.A. Fires, Locals Turn to Native Plants to Help Shield Homes From Flames and Clean Contaminated Soil

Scientists and community members in Altadena are testing ways that California species can assist efforts to rebuild

Smoke from wildfires can cause off-putting, ashy flavors in wine.

Wildfires Are Ruining Your Favorite Wines. These Bacteria Might Be Able to Help

Microbes already growing on grape plants may help neutralize one of the compounds responsible for wildfire-exposed grapes’ off-putting flavors, new research suggests

The annual average concentration of PM 2.5 expected in 2050. 

New Research

Wildfire Smoke Will Likely Kill Thousands More Americans Each Year

A new analysis finds that 30,000 more Americans are expected to die from wildfire-smoke exposure annually by 2050

Firefighters are still assessing the damage, but several structures were destroyed in Chinese Camp.

Wildfire Sweeps Through Historic California Gold Rush Town Settled by Chinese Miners

Caused by a massive lightning storm, the 6-5 Fire destroyed the post office and several other buildings in the small town of Chinese Camp

Arborists scaled the tree to douse the final flames on August 21.

World’s Tallest Douglas Fir Tree Damaged in Mysterious, Multi-Day Blaze, but It’s Alive After Firefighters Extinguish Flames

The fire started burning on August 16 and only affected a single tree—the historic Doerner Fir in southern Oregon. Authorities are still investigating the cause

A firefighter stands beside the charred remains of a burned structure near the Grand Canyon Lodge.

Historic Grand Canyon Lodge Destroyed by Wildfire as Blaze Continues Across National Park’s North Rim

Constructed in 1937, the lodge was one of dozens of buildings consumed by the fast-moving Dragon Bravo wildfire, which has raged across thousands of acres

The Getty Villa reopened June 27 after a six-month closure due to the Palisades Fire.

The Getty Villa Reopens Six Months After the Devastating Palisades Fire

The iconic Los Angeles venue is welcoming visitors back with a new exhibition featuring artworks and artifacts from ancient Greece

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