Ozone pollution at the ground-level is evolving as a threat to human health and environment. The Government must conduct an in-depth, research-based study to understand the lacunae plaguing its pollution-control drive
Ozone at the stratospheric level is a saviour of sorts as it forms a protective layer against sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. But thanks to increasing levels of pollution in the form of man-made chemicals, this natural protection is gradually diminishing. However, not all ozones are good news. The ozone pollution at the ground-level is a serious cause of concern and is rapidly evolving as a threat to human health and the environment.
The tropospheric, or ground-level ozone is due to the pollutants emitted by cars, power plants, industrial boilers, refineries, chemical plants, and other sources. The chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight increase ozone levels.
Excess ozone at ground is also a key ingredient in smog and has an adverse and irreversible effect on sensitive vegetation, ecosystems, including forests, parks, wildlife refuges and wilderness areas. But inspite of documented data regarding the effect of ozone pollution on environment, a lot still needs to be done in order to protect delicate ecology from ozone pollution.
Ozone impacts, especially on human health, need to be taken much more seriously than it is being done now. Studies indicate that ozone poses risk for people suffering from asthma, children, older adults, and people who are active outdoors, especially outdoor workers. Breathing ozone not only worsens bronchitis and emphysema but also triggers a variety of health problems including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and airway inflammation.
It can also reduce lung function and harm lung tissue. In addition, people with certain genetic characteristics and with reduced intake of certain nutrients, such as vitamins C and E, are at greater risk from ozone exposure.
Given the wide spectrum of threats to human health, the corresponding awareness level in the community regarding ill effects of ozone pollution on health is not only dismal but puzzling as well. This is indicative of several loopholes still present in the over all community health strategy of the Government.
The Government must conduct an in-depth research backed study urgently in order to understand the lacunae plaguing the Government’s pollution control drive and how the subject of ozone pollution and its adverse impacts have managed to stay on the fringes of the pollution mitigation strategies. This is crucial since the alarming escalation of ozone pollution is now affecting India’s food production and delivering a serious blow to food security strategies.
According to Geophysical Research letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, surface ozone pollution damaged six million metric tonnes of India’s wheat, rice, soybean and cotton crops. This avoidable damage to crops could have fed 94 million people living below the poverty line.
The absence of a robust ozone pollution mitigation strategy caused this eventuality on food production. However, this can change if the Government is able to productively utilise the Ozone Risk Estimate Database developed by a team of scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune.
ORED can play a vital role and aid policymakers examine suitable mitigation strategies for crop protection against ozone pollution. According to the scientists, India can enhance its rice yields by 2.5 per cent and wheat by 3.3 per cent if emissions leading to generation of ground-level ozone can be mitigated.
The Government must also make efforts to control the urban heat island effect as it has a direct bearing in increasing ozone pollution levels. The urban heat island effect is the phenomenon where developed areas tend to be warmer than their surrounding countryside.
Excessively warm conditions tend to worsen ground-level ozone air pollution problems, as ozone concentrations are dependent on levels of photochemical reactivity affected by temperature. The thermal properties of materials used in urban areas for building and construction play a major role in determining the level of ozone pollution. Therefore, the Government must implement effective building standards that promote use of materials that have low thermal signature. This will mitigate urban heat island phenomenon besides controlling ozone pollution.
A recent study by the World Meteorological Organisation and the United Nations Environment Programme, identified Asia to be vulnerable to ozone pollution. As rising emissions cause severe ozone pollution in some of India’s most populated regions, the Government must increase awareness levels in the community.
Under the Smart Cities initiative, the Government can adopt technology and develop applications that bring current weather and ozone updates to hand held devices, this will help people track real time ozone levels and plan their outdoor activity accordingly.