Why is the Way We Expose Ourselves to Pollution Changing?

Every year, multiple cities in the world close their most emblematic places momentarily due to the deterioration of #airquality. While measures against this problem have become widespread, improving air quality in urban areas remains a demanding situation that many countries do not know how to address.

Over time, the massification of electric vehicles and the reduction of nitrogen oxide gases in the environment have brought positive results against #pollution. However, what was not known until now was that these gases are very useful to neutralize another dangerous pollutant: ozone. With more electric vehicles in circulation, and lower nitrogen oxide emissions, ozone concentrations in some urban areas have increased considerably.

Currently, #ozone is harmful to people with respiratory diseases such as #asthma or #bronchitis. Unlike in the stratosphere, where ozone plays an important role in protecting us from harmful ultraviolet radiation, on the surface, it can act as a respiratory pollutant.

Now the concern is greater, as ozone is not only concentrated outdoors but also indoors, where it can be mixed with other chemicals used daily and enhance its harmful effect. While ventilation can dilute indoor pollutant emissions, it will also allow for more outdoor ozone that could initiate chemical reactions.

In the coming years, improving outdoor air quality will not necessarily reduce our overall exposure to air pollution. However, while air pollution is complex and dynamic, it is necessary to take care of air quality as best as possible and understand how we deal with pollutants.