Substantially underestimated global health risks of current ozone pollution

作者：Yuan Wang, Yuanjian Yang, Qiangqiang Yuan, Tongwen Li, Yi Zhou, Lian Zong, Mengya Wang, Zunyi Xie, Hung Chak Ho, Meng Gao, Shilu Tong, Simone Lolli, Liangpei Zhang · 发表于：Nature Communications · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1038/s41467-024-55450-0 · 被引用次数：88 · 研究领域：Air Quality and Health Impacts、Climate Change and Health Impacts、Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics

Existing assessments might have underappreciated ozone-related health impacts worldwide. Here our study assesses current global ozone pollution using the high-resolution (0.05°) estimation from a geo-ensemble learning model, with key focuses on population exposure and all-cause mortality burden. Our model demonstrates strong performance, achieving a mean bias of less than -1.5 parts per billion against in-situ measurements. We estimate that 66.2% of the global population is exposed to excess ozone for short term (> 30 days per year), and 94.2% suffers from long-term exposure. Furthermore, severe ozone exposure levels are observed in Cropland areas, particularly over Asia. Importantly, the all-cause ozone-attributable deaths significantly surpass previous recognition from specific diseases worldwide. Notably, mid-latitude Asia (30°N) and the western United States show high mortality burden, contributing substantially to global ozone-attributable deaths. Our study highlights current significant global ozone-related health risks and may benefit the ozone-exposed population in the future. This study assesses current global ozone pollution and reveals significant O₃-related health risks, with key focuses on population exposure and all-cause mortality burden, using the high-resolution estimation from a geo-ensemble learning model.