Nearly 40% of Global Population Exposed to Dangerous Ozone Pollution in 2026: Report
Asia was the most affected continent, and the report says wildfire smoke, heat and emissions are delaying progress.
- A new report from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service reveals that nearly 40% of the Earth's population has been exposed to dangerous ground-level ozone so far in 2026, based on data through the first eight months of the year.
- Asia is the continent most impacted by ozone pollution, followed by Europe and North America, as widespread anthropogenic emissions and wildfires delay progress across the Northern Hemisphere above World Health Organization recommendations.
- According to the American Lung Association, ozone exposure in the United States is higher than the past five years, with more than 4 in 10 people living in areas with unhealthy air pollution levels.
- Oceania, including Australia and New Zealand, ranked as one of the cleanest regions on the planet, with 100% of the population experiencing good and fair levels of ozone, CAMS says.
- Laurence Rouil, director of CAMS, said ozone pollution is a reminder of how climate change and human activity impact the chemistry of the air we breathe, ultimately determining ecosystem health and food production.
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Nearly 40% of global population exposed to dangerous ozone pollution in 2026: Report
Widespread extreme heat and human-caused air pollution have exposed nearly 40% of the global population to dangerous levels of ground-level ozone so far this year.
Almost 40% of the world's population was exposed, in the first eight months of 2026, to dangerous levels of ozone near the surface, reveals a new analysis of Copernicus. In Europe, successive heat waves aggravated this type of pollution and half of the population... The content Heat, ozone, smoke and dust make pollution increasingly global appears first in South Information.
Among the factors of concern are also pollution caused by large forest fires and the transport of desert dusts.
During the first eight months of 2026, anthropogenic air pollution and extreme heat "met" in many regions of the planet, producing high levels of ground-level ozone.
Air quality deteriorated significantly in 2026. According to Copernicus, around 40 percent of the world's population was affected by high ozone levels.
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