Overview
- The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service’s Atmosphere Watch report, released Wednesday, covered Jan. 1–Sept. 15, 2026 and found about 34 percent of the global population experienced ‘extremely poor’ ground-level ozone exposure.
- Nearly half of the world breathed very or extremely poor ozone through mid-September and only about 5 percent experienced WHO‑level ‘good’ ozone, with Asia worst hit at roughly 53 percent of its population under ‘extremely poor’ conditions.
- CAMS used satellite observations and computer models to map ozone, wildfire smoke and dust and showed pollution travelled thousands of kilometres so emissions and fires in one region degraded air quality far away.
- The report links this year’s spike in ozone to record heatwaves, large wildfires and human emissions, and the European Environment Agency estimated ozone contributes to about 60,000 premature deaths in Europe each year.
- CAMS warned the strengthening El Niño and ongoing heatwaves could drive more fires in southeast Asia and beyond, so officials are using continuous monitoring and health estimates to press for public warnings and tighter emissions controls.