The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has sounded an alarm: Delhi-NCR and Mumbai have emerged as India’s biggest hotspots of ground-level ozone pollution. Over 25 monitoring stations in these regions recorded ozone levels above safe limits, posing serious health risks. Ground-level ozone, unlike the protective ozone in the stratosphere, is a toxic pollutant formed when vehicular and industrial emissions react under sunlight. It triggers asthma, damages lungs, and worsens cardiovascular diseases — hitting children, the elderly, and outdoor workers hardest. Yet governments continue to deny the crisis, allowing corporate-controlled automobile, fuel, and construction lobbies to dictate policy. Instead of reducing emissions and promoting clean public transport, policies still encourage car-centric growth and reckless urban expansion. This is not a natural disaster — it is man-made, created by corporate greed and government apathy. Unless people fight back for clean air, India’s cities will keep choking.
CPCB flags NCR and Mumbai as ozone pollution hotspots, 25+ monitoring stations breach safe limits
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