Air quality regulations and anti-pollution measures in Europe and North America have had very positive impacts on air quality. Since the year 2000, both average and peak surface ozone concentrations have leveled off and even started to fall at some locations after increasing throughout the twentieth century, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization.
By contrast, the few available monitoring stations in East Asia have measured a continuous increase in ozone levels. Tropospheric ozone is harmful to human health, crops, and ecosystems and is also a greenhouse gas and, due to long-distance atmospheric transport, some surface sites on the west coast of North America also show a continued increase, according to the WMO Reactive Gases Bulletin.
The WMO Reactive Gases Bulletin emphasizes that there is a need for more widespread and systematic surface observations, which are sparse or lacking in many parts of the world. This would enable better scientific assessments of the global distribution and impacts of ozone. There is also a need for more urban monitoring of ozone precursors, which is necessary to investigate episodes of high ozone levels and to verify compliance with air quality regulations.
Air pollution is one of the largest causes of death worldwide, claiming 7 million lives per year, according to WHO.
Read and download The WMO Reactive Gases Bulletin
Original source: WMO
Published on 26 October 2018
