Extreme heat worsens harmful ozone, 90% of Asia's population affected, EU study finds
3▲0 ▼0Impact / 5
The European Union's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service announced on September 30 an analysis showing that about 40% of the world's population was exposed to health-harming levels of ground-level ozone between January and August 2026. Extreme heat combined with man-made air pollution pushed concentrations higher, with Asia the worst affected region. Ground-level ozone is an air pollutant that is the main component of photochemical smog, formed when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds emitted by cars and factories undergo chemical reactions under strong sunlight and high temperatures. According to the service, 60% of Asia's population was exposed to air quality rated "extremely poor" due to ozone concentrations, and including "poor" and "very poor" levels, the figure reached 90%. In Europe, too, repeated heatwaves from June to August worsened ozone pollution, with half the population exposed to levels rated "poor" or worse.