NGT notice to Centre, CPCB over ozone pollution

Bengaluru: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notice to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) over the increasing levels of ground-level ozone, a highly toxic gas, in metro cities, including Bengaluru, between January and July 2024.

The tribunal took up a suo motu case based on a report by the Centre for Science and Environment which said that ground-level ozone exceeded the permissible limits of 100 microgram per cubic metre per eight hours in 10 metropolitan cities of India.

Delhi National Capital Region had the highest number of days (176) when the ozone exceeded the permissible limits, followed by Mumbai metropolitan region and Pune (138), Jaipur (126), Hyderabad (86), Kolkata (63), Bengaluru (59), Lucknow (49), Ahmedabad (41)and Chennai (9).

Ozone at ground level is a product of chemical reaction between oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds in the presence of heat. Terming ozone exceedance as an invisible threat that yet to receive the seriousness despite increasing danger.

The tribunal noted that ozone  can inflame and damage airways, make lungs susceptible to infection, aggravate asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis and increase the frequency of asthma attacks leading to increased hospitalisation," said, ordering notice be issued to the the CPCB and the MoEF&CC.