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We review current knowledge on the trends and drivers of global wildfire activity, advances in the measurement of wildfire smoke exposure, and evidence on the health effects of this exposure. We discuss methodological issues in estimating the causal effects of wildfire smoke exposures on health. We conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of wildfire smoke exposure on all-cause mortality and respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity. We conclude by highlighting high priority areas for future research, including leveraging recently-developed spatially and temporally resolved wildfire specific ambient air pollution data to improve estimates of the health effects of wildfire smoke exposure.