New Delhi
The ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEF&CC) recommended the formation of an expert committee to study the impact of high ozone (O3) pollution across the country — especially Delhi-NCR, which is one of the most impacted — and submit the same to the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
In an affidavit filed with the NGT on April 19, MoEF&CC agreed with a December 2024 report submitted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) that found high levels of ground-level ozone in major cities.
“Considering the importance of the subject matter and the need for a more comprehensive understanding, the MoEFCC recommends the constitution of an expert committee comprising of specialist of experts in this relevant field and submit report in a time-bound manner as mentioned in the CPCB report,” it said in the submission.
Further, MoEF&CC said it also agreed with the CPCB’s recommendations to control precursors of ozone, namely nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO) at source.
In December 2024, CPCB shared a detailed report, informing the NGT that Delhi-NCR and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region were the two most-impacted regions in terms of high ozone (O3) pollution in 2023 and 2024.
The report said that in 2024 summer, of the 57 ambient air quality stations in NCR, 49 surpassed the hourly ozone standard of 180 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³). This included eight stations which recorded levels at least 5% over this standard, the report said. In 2023 summer, 37 stations had crossed this hourly standard. It was 5% above the permissible limits at just three stations, indicating the summer of 2024 was far worse than 2023, it said.
In August 2024, NGT took suo motu cognisance of a news report, highlighting high ozone levels in the country. It had also sought details from the central pollution body.
The CPCB report, which also looked at night-time data, said the gas is primarily formed through a complex chemical reaction between oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight.
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