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York study: Less traffic in first UK lockdown reduced NO2 pollution but caused increase in surface ozone

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Less traffic on the roads during the first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK led to a reduction in air pollution but may have caused potentially damaging surface ozone levels to rise, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of York. The problem is being created by the change in chemistry between NO x and O 3.

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Harvard/Nanjing study: China’s war on PM2.5 pollution is causing more severe ozone pollution

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pollution is falling, harmful ground-level ozone pollution is on the rise, especially in large cities. Ozone is the main ingredient in smog and has been studied since it began choking cities in the US in the early 1950s. There was so much particulate matter in Chinese cities that it stunted the ozone production. Ke Li, Daniel J.

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Studies find global COVID-19 lockdowns have significantly reduced PM2.5 and NO2 pollution, but ozone up

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Levels of two major air pollutants have been reduced significantly since lockdowns began in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a secondary pollutant—ground-level ozone—has increased in China, according to new research. Ozone is harmful to humans at ground-level, causing pulmonary and heart disease. —Guy Brasseur.

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TOAR shows present-day global ozone distribution and trends relevant to health; public database

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Ozone levels across much of North America and Europe dropped significantly between 2000 and 2014. People living in parts of southern Europe, South Korea and southern Japan and China also experienced more than 15 days a year of ozone levels above 70 ppb. Trends in daily maximum ozone levels (known as 4MDA8) at urban and non-urban sites.

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Severe drought influences ozone pollution

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Drought conditions can have complicated effects on ozone air quality, so to better understand the process, researchers have analyzed data from two ozone-polluted cities before, during and after the California drought. However, plants also decrease air ozone levels by taking the gas up through pores in their leaves.

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EPA proposes tightening primary ozone standards to range of 65-70 ppb; final rule by October 2015

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Counties where measured ozone is above proposed range of standards, based on 2011-2013 monitoring data. Earlier this year, EPA staff had recommended the further reduction of this primary ozone standard from the current 75 ppb (parts per billion) to a revised level within the range of 70 ppb to 60 ppb—and preferably below 70 ppb.

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Global study links daily exposure to ozone pollution to increased risk of death

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Daily exposure to ground level ozone in cities worldwide is associated with an increased risk of death, according to the largest study of its kind, published in an open-access paper in The BMJ. Ground level ozone is a highly reactive gas commonly found in urban and suburban environments, formed when pollutants react in sunlight.

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