LONG-TERM CHANGES IN TROPOSPHERIC OZONE CONCENTRATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN HEALTH AND CROP YIELD

Abstract

Ozone (Oplay-3) is a secondary emission that is formed via the reaction of light with nitrogen oxides in addition to volatile organic compounds. It has assumed colossal risk to both population and environmental health.  In this study, authors examine the long-term trends (20082022) of tropospheric ozone levels and their impacts on human health (lungs) and the production of crops that grow in various regions of the planet.  We have considered satellite measurements of OMI and TROPOMI, as well as ground-based monitoring data, to see how the level of ozone changed over the course of many years and geographical locations.  The findings indicate that the urban-industrial regions in general (and in Asia and North America in particular) reported a consistently increased concentration of ozone in the atmosphere (with the mean or workable level being recorded at >75 ppb). Background accumulation on the other hand was gradual in the rural areas and this led to increase in ozone levels. The studies which applied population-weighted exposure measures and generalised linear model to health impact study indicated a significant association between high ozone concentrations on increased hospitalisation due to asthma, COPD and heart disease.  Elderly people had the greatest relative risk (RR = 1.89), children, and adults in the second place.  Meanwhile, crop yield estimations considering exposure indices of AOT40 revealed massive losses, particularly the crops that are prone to ozone like wheat and rice.  Wheat in Asia alone declined up to 20 per cent in years where there was much ozone.  The analysis conducted by the multivariate regressions and crop simulation such as WOFOST indicated that existing relationship between exposure to ozone and yield outcomes is direct and inverse.Some of the visiualisations that indicated good evidence of the two issues that ozone pollution was responsible of were heatmaps, line charts and infographics.  In this paper the research shows that tropospheric ozone is not only a prominent air pollutant but also a long-term environmental plague and a health issue to certain individuals.  We require combined mitigation strategies immediately to mitigate these dangers, which are all converging. Such actions are needed to venture into emission reduction measures, air monitoring routes, and the hardening of crops.