Ground-level ozone spikes across Europe, heatwaves push dangerous levels into Scandinavia

At a recent press briefing, Laurence Rouïl, head of the Copernicus atmospheric monitoring service Cams, warned that ground-level ozone now threatens the health of almost 40% of the world’s population. The worst-hit areas include the Middle East, India, China and parts of Southeast Asia, but Europe is also facing rising concentrations despite long-standing efforts to curb nitrogen-oxide emissions. Intense heatwaves, widespread forest fires and the ability of ozone to travel long distances have kept levels high, with the French Riviera, northern Italy and the Adriatic coastline each experiencing more than 30 days above EU targets this year, and similar readings now recorded in Scandinavia.

The European Environment Agency estimates these ozone levels could cause around 60,000 premature deaths per year across Europe. In contrast, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) remains the leading air-quality killer, responsible for about 180,000 early deaths, a figure that has more than halved since 2005. Ian Marnane of the EEA noted that while industrial and traffic emissions are hard to control, small-scale wood and coal burning is a major source that can be targeted for reduction.