A study has found that climate change is one of the main causes exacerbating ozone air pollution. According to domestic research, the average concentration of ozone is increasing due to climate change, such as rising temperatures, and the duration of high ozone events is also getting longer.
Lee Hyung-joo, a professor at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), said the research team analyzed the impact of weather conditions on ozone concentration and the number of exceedance days to reveal the effects of climate change on ozone air pollution. This study was published in the international journal 'Chemosphere' in November last year.
Ozone (O₃) is an invisible gas in the atmosphere, but it is a representative pollutant that threatens respiratory and cardiovascular health. It is mainly generated by reactions between vehicle exhaust and pollutants emitted from factories in sunlight, and the concentration of ozone in Korea has steadily increased over decades. However, this phenomenon cannot be explained solely by the increase in emissions. The concentration of ozone is significantly affected by weather conditions such as temperature, humidity, and wind speed.
The research team designed an experiment to analyze the effects of changes in weather conditions on ozone concentration. An analysis of data collected over 20 years from 25 districts in Seoul from 2001 to 2019 found that the average concentration of ozone increased by 1.6 ppb, due to changes in weather conditions, such as rising temperatures.
Additionally, changes in weather conditions have altered the pattern of exceedance days. The first occurrence of exceedance days arrived, on average, 2.7 days earlier each year. The last occurrence was 2.3 days later, extending the period of exceedance days by 89 days, and the probability of exceedance days increased 3.8 years sooner.
It is generally known that ozone concentrations primarily pose problems during the hot summer months, but research indicates that ozone concentrations can significantly increase in spring and fall, which can have a major impact on daily health management.
Professor Lee Hyung-joo noted, "Until now, ozone air pollution has been recognized as a summer issue, but there is a risk of ozone air pollution in spring and fall as well, and climate change will make air quality management more challenging." He emphasized the need for proactive air quality management measures to respond to climate change that accelerates the increase in ozone concentration.
Reference material
Chemosphere (2024), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143687