Bhopal, May 21 -- At 255 parts per billion (ppb), the ground-level ozone reading at the Central Pollution Control Board's TT Nagar station on Tuesday was five times above the acceptable limit. The Indian safety standard stands at 50 ppb (averaged over 8 hours), but Bhopal's blazing heat and choked traffic seem to be fuelling a far more serious and overlooked crisis.
Ground-level ozone isn't directly emitted. It forms when nitrogen oxides (NOx) from vehicle exhausts and industrial sources mix with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from fuel vapours, paints, solvents, and even incense, under intense sunlight. The result is a secondary pollutant that aggravates asthma, damages lung tissue, and increases the risk of respiratory infections-espe...