Photochemical air pollution is an atmospheric phenomenon in which primary pollutants, principally nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), undergo sunlight-driven photochemical reactions to form a complex mixture of secondary pollutants. Key products include ozone (O₃) in the troposphere, peroxyacyl nitrates (PANs), aldehydes, organic nitrates, and secondary organic aerosols. These reactions are initiated by NO₂ photolysis, generating ozone and radical species (e.g., OH, HO₂, RO₂) that propagate non-linear reaction chains. Photochemical air pollution is characterized by strong diurnal and seasonal patterns and is sensitive to precursor emissions, meteorology, and atmospheric oxidizing capacity.
Two-thirds of the European Union's population may have been exposed to harmful levels of ozone pollution during last month's record-breaking heat wave, a report exclusively shared with AFP warned Thursday.
Environment
Jul 9, 2026
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Climate change will profoundly alter the dynamics of sea and land breezes in the Barcelona metropolitan area, trapping larger amounts of air pollutants over coastal areas and increasing health risks for millions of people. ...
Environment
Jun 11, 2026
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The TEMPO mission helped scientists track morning nitrogen dioxide that contributed to afternoon ozone along the New York–Washington corridor in May 2026. More than 35 million people live along the New York–Washington corridor ...
Environment
Jun 11, 2026
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For decades, the United States made steady progress in reducing surface ozone pollution, the main ingredient in smog. But that progress—made as vehicles, industries, and power sources became cleaner—is increasingly being ...
Environment
Jun 5, 2026
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Ozone pollution has worsened in much of the continental United States over the past decade, fueled by wildfires and the long-distance transport of unhealthy air, according to a new study titled "Fires reverse progress toward ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 4, 2026
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A study that assesses the effects of wildfires over two decades shows that wildfire smoke significantly raises ground-level ozone and contributes to excess deaths from wildfire smoke in the United States each year. The research, ...
Environment
May 11, 2026
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Air quality in Europe is improving but more effort is needed to reach the European Union's 2030 targets, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said in its annual report on Thursday.
Environment
Apr 30, 2026
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9
South Africa risks thousands of premature deaths if the phase-out of coal plants is delayed due to the government's updated decommissioning dates, climate rights groups said in a report Wednesday.
Environment
Apr 22, 2026
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9
Tiny aerosol particles in the air play a big role in regulating how much sunlight our planet absorbs or reflects, and how clouds form above us. In a recent study, researchers found that extreme heat waves can trigger new ...
A research team from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology has shown in a new study that ants returning from habitats affected by air pollution are attacked when they re-enter the colony. The cause: air pollution, ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 2, 2026
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