Tropospheric ozone forms in the troposphere, the first and lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere. It is a harmful air pollutant formed by the interaction of sunlight with two other pollutants, volatile organic compounds (gasoline combustion, evaporation of liquid fuels, gas and oil production, etc.) and nitrogen oxides (industries, coal combustion, gasoline, etc.) emitted largely by human activities.
Responsible for migraines, eye and throat irritations, coughs, exposure to O3 causes respiratory problems, including worsening asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). , decreased lung function and infections. These disorders can lead, in the most serious cases, to hospitalizations and deaths.
Ozone from countries outside Europe
The scientific team relied on the Caliope air quality measurement device, which covers Europe, but also on a modeling technique which allowed them to evaluate the dispersion and transport of atmospheric pollutants, land and sea, over long distances. The researchers were thus able to assess the number of deaths due to O3 emitted in Europe but also imported.
According to the results, among the 114,447 deaths attributable to O3 – making it one of the leading causes of premature mortality from air pollution:
88.3% of deaths are linked to exposure from other countries; 11.7% to exposure of national origin.
In detail, according to the Inserm press release, “20.9% of all deaths observed are linked to ozone originating in the other European countries analyzed, 60.2% to ozone originating in outside Europe and the remaining 7.2% comes from ozone from maritime transport.
In addition, the majority of O3 attributable to mortality is emitted by the most industrialized countries, including France. “O3 from France has had a significant impact on its border countries such as Luxembourg (32.3% of deaths attributable to O3), Switzerland (29.3%), Belgium (24.4%) %) or even Spain (16.8%). »
A phenomenon accentuated by global warming
“Our study highlights the need for systematic quantification of national, European and extra-community contributions to air pollution levels and their associated health effects. The objective is to put in place regulatory and mitigation measures to combat the effect of air pollutants such as O3 which are easily transported across borders,” explains Hicham Achebak, researcher at Inserm (France) and ISGlobal (Spain). Especially since “global warming will strengthen the conditions for the formation of tropospheric O3 in the future, because the photochemical mechanisms of O3 formation are favored during heat waves and periods of strong solar radiation. Fighting global warming is necessary to sustainably improve air quality.”
Please note: according to a study published in The Lancet Planetary Health, air, water and soil pollutants are responsible for 9 million deaths each year worldwide. According to the WHO in 2019, 4.2 million deaths were attributable to air pollution.
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