The ACT Air Quality Report for 2020 revealed there was a 550 per cent increase in the number of days where emissions from wood heaters in Canberra were hazardous and exceeding national standards.

In 2020, there were 13 days between mid-May and early August where dangerous wood heater emissions were recorded, compared to just two days in 2019 and one day during 2018.

Demand for wood fire heaters still show no signs of slowing down any time soon, with firewood suppliers reporting surges in demand this winter after a record 2020.

Owner of Rural Firewood Supplies Peter Dimmock said his yard had to be expanded during the summer months in order to accommodate the extra demand following additional interest in the wake of the pandemic.

"This year the demand started as early as February, and we're selling more than what we were before the pandemic," Mr Dimmock said.

"The demand is still definitely there, and it will carry well into next year and even more people will be putting wood on the fire."

Not surprisingly, the biggest source of air pollution during 2020 was smoke from the devastating Black Summer bushfires, which persisted through much of January and February.

There were 26 days where PM2.5 levels - where particles in the atmosphere are less than 2.5 microns in diameter - exceeded national standards and were at hazardous levels.

At one stage, air quality in the ACT was 20 times more hazardous than accepted levels, with Canberra having the worst air quality in the world.

"The daily PM2.5 standard was exceeded on 39 days at one or more of the monitoring stations, compared to 32 days in 2019 and five days in 2018," the report said.

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During bushfire periods, levels of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and ozone increased dramatically in the ACT.

In a positive note, however, overall pollutant levels for ozone and nitrogen dioxide were down in 2020 compared to the previous years.

"This is possibly due to less vehicle traffic and other human activities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and the cooler temperatures in the second half of 2020," the report said.

Professor of global environmental health at the Australian National University Sotiris Vardoulakis said the high levels of pollution seen in the ACT were alarming.

"This is very concerning, particularly for people who have pre-existing respiratory conditions, and when this happens over multiple days, it exacerbates it even further," he said.

"In the future there needs to be clean energy and while people may like the smell of a wood fire, it's not good for health. The more people breathe in smoke, the more likely they are to develop symptoms."

Of the three air quality monitoring stations in the ACT - Civic, Monash and Florey - more pollutants were identified in suburban areas.

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Professor Vardoulakis said the findings showed wood heaters were responsible for much of the pollution levels in Canberra during the colder months of the year.

"When more people were working from home, there were more domestic emissions throughout the day," he said.

Sales of wood heaters in the ACT went through the roof in the lead up to winter, with some stores reporting a two-month wait list.

The territory government has operated a wood heater replacement program since 2004, where people can receive rebates if they get rid of their older heaters.

More than 1200 rebates have been handed out since the scheme began, although there was a slight drop in demand during the 2019-20 financial year.

Wood heaters have been banned from being installed in new development areas such as parts of the Molonglo Valley.

ACT Environment Minister Rebecca Vassarotti said Canberra's air quality strategy is set to be delivered to the Legislative Assembly by October this year, drawing on recommendations from the recent Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements.

"We need to take action against climate change, otherwise we will see more intense and frequent occurrences such as dust storms and bushfires and ultimately have poorer air quality in the ACT," she said.

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