Delhi-NCR hit by summer ozone crisis once again, shows CSE analysis
The region in the grip of a multi-pollutant crisis and ground-level ozone has exceeded standards nearly on all days of March-April, says CSE Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a think tank based in Delhi, on Monday, issued an alert on rising ozone pollution and the multi-pollutant crisis that Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) are facing during summer. A recent analysis conducted by the CSE said that ground-level ozone exceedance is reported on nearly all days of summer. The report released on Sunday, the eve of World Environment Day 2023, revealed that while the region continues to face a multi-pollutant crisis, the levels of ozone this summer are lower than in previous years. However, if not addressed, this issue could escalate into a serious public health crisis in the coming years. Over the last five years, it has been noted that ground-level ozone has been an all-season problem but it is exceptionally worse in the months of April and May, said CSE in its report. According to Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director of Research and Advocacy at CSE, the focus on particulate pollution has overshadowed the urgent need to address toxic gases. “Inadequate monitoring, limited data, and inappropriate methods of trend analysis have weakened the understanding of this growing public health hazard. Learn from the advanced economies that after controlling particulate pollution have fallen into the grip of rising nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ozone crisis. India should prevent this trap,” she said. What is ground-level ozone? Ground-level ozone is a highly toxic gas formed by the interaction of nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and carbon monoxide (CO) emitted from vehicles, power plants, factories, and other combustion sources. VOCs can also be emitted from natural sources, such as plants. According to CSE, the complex chemistry of ground-level ozone makes it a challenging pollutant to track and mitigate. These pollutants undergo cyclic reactions in the presence of sunlight, resulting in the formation of ground-level ozone.
