Throughout the country, heat aggravates ozone pollution peaks. According to the ATMO France card, the air quality monitoring site, all regions are affected by ozone pollution this Thursday, August 14, with the exception of Brittany, the Pays de la Loire and Normandy, also spared by the heat wave.
Thus, excess of thresholds are possible in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Grand Est and in Ile-de-France. More localized overruns are also to be expected in Occitanie and in Center-Val de Loire, specifies the Prev’Air site.
In the Paris region, currently on orange heat wave and touched by an episode of “persistent” pollution with ozone, traffic restrictions have been set up from this Thursday, the Paris police headquarters announced. “Summer weather conditions are conducive to ozone formation from pollutants emitted in the region, with a risk of exceeding the information and recommendations threshold. The air quality will be bad in Ile-de-France ”specifies Airparif in its bulletin of the day. Indeed, the body noted between 170 µg /m³ and 200 µg /m³ for ozone, while the acceptable threshold is 180 µg /m³ on an average time.
Same thing in the Bouches-du-Rhône and the Vaucluse, where “Air quality remains bad on most of the region”notes Atmo Sud. Prefectural alerts are renewed in these departments where the highest concentrations will be observed Thursday afternoon.
According to Atmo, ozone is a pollutant “secondary”that is to say that it is not rejected directly into the air by sources of pollution but results from chemical transformations of pollutants already present, triggered by solar radiation. Thus, ozone pollution peaks are more common in summer. And the increase in temperatures, linked to climate change, aggravates these episodes.
In addition, ozone pollution, associated with high temperatures, adds risks to human health. Children, the elderly, asthmatics and people who suffer from respiratory failure are particularly sensitive to this pollution, which can cause cough, chest discomfort, shortness of breath as well as nasal and eye irritation. The significant presence of ozone can also increase sensitivity to pollens.
Ozone also has effects on the environment by disturbing the growth of certain plant species, causing reductions in yield in crops. It also contributes to the greenhouse effect, atmo points. Finally, it attacks and degrades certain materials, such as rubber.