Nearly 40% of the world is exposed to dangerous ozone pollution in 2026: Key details

According to a new report released by Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, the combination of prolonged periods of extreme heat and human-caused air pollution has exposed nearly 40% of the global population to toxic levels of ground-level ozone this year.

The analysis indicated that widespread ozone pollution across much of the Northern Hemisphere exceeds the levels recommended by the World Health Organization till date.

The researchers said ground-level ozone, a brownish air haze created when ultraviolet sunlight triggers chemical reactions, harms human health, ecosystems and agricultural productivity.

In this connection, Laurence Rouil, director of CAMS said: “Ozone pollution is a stark reminder of how interconnected our atmosphere, climate, health, and livelihoods really are, with pollution and our changing climate impacting the chemistry of the air we breathe, determining the health of our ecosystems, and even governing our ability to grow food.”

The organization provides one of the most comprehensive analyses of Earth’s atmosphere by integrating satellite and observation-model models to global atmospheric composition tracking.

Ozone exposure this year is higher than the past five years with more than 4 in 10 in the US, residing in areas with atmospheric contamination.

The report also underlines the extensive effects of air pollution, showing how wildfire smoke and other pollutants can travel thousands of miles.

However, population exposure to wildfire smoke has intensified even as global emissions from biomass burning have declined in recent decades; though this increase is instigated primarily by a recent spate of severe wildfires bordering densely inhabited zones.