Scientists warn of ‘very high ozone pollution’ for Europe as heatwaves rise
July 20, 2022, 7:58 am

Scientists warn of ‘very high ozone pollution’ for Europe as heatwaves rise

Ozone is a gas composed of three atoms of oxygen. It occurs both in the Earth's upper atmosphere and at ground level - Photo. Pixabay

Scientists with the European Union's climate monitoring service warned Tuesday (July 19) of “very high ozone pollution” for a large region of Europe stemming from the current heatwave.

A statement by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (CAMS): “Very high levels of ozone pollution in southern Europe caused by the heatwave could now affect northwestern regions in the coming week.”

Scientists anticipate that after "extremely high surface ozone pollution" was observed across western and southern Europe, ozone pollution might affect the "northwestern regions."

It said: "In mid-July, daily maximum values of surface ozone, which peak during the middle of the day, reached unhealthy levels in Portugal, Spain and Italy with some locations measuring in excess of 200 μg/m3.”

A according to CAMS scientists, Ozone pollution is expected to reach its highest in Europe on July 18 - 20.

While the heatwave in Spain and Portugal killed more than 330 people last week, the UK recorded its hottest temperature ever Tuesday (July 19).

Heatwaves are most common in summer when high pressure develops across an area - Pic. Pixabay

In southwestern France, wildfires have devoured thousands of hectares of forests and lands.

Ozone can be “good” or “bad” for health and the environment depending on where it’s found in the atmosphere.

Stratospheric ozone is “good” because it protects living things from ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

Climate change extreme weather costs Germany billions annually

The stratospheric ozone layer is Earth’s “sunscreen” – protecting living things from too much ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

Ground-level ozone, the topic of this website, is “bad” because it can trigger a variety of health problems.

Ozone is a gas composed of three atoms of oxygen. It occurs both in the Earth's upper atmosphere and at ground level.

Ozone at ground level is a harmful air pollutant, because of its effects on people and the environment, and it is the main ingredient in “smog."

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
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