Ground-level ozone in India damages 6.7 million tons of wheat, rice, and other staple crops per year, enough to feed 94 million people and generate $1.3 billion in revenue, according to a new study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. “Arising from a combination of vehicle emissions, cooking stoves, and industrial sources, plant-damaging ozone has left many of India’s fast-developing cities among the most polluted in the world,” Yale reports, citing India’s Air Monitoring Center. “The number of vehicles there has nearly tripled in the past 10 years, rising from 50 million in 2003 to 130 million in 2013, and the country currently has no air quality standards to protect crops from ozone pollution. The researchers say the findings should be used to guide new ozone emission standards for the country.” (h/t to Environmental News Bits for pointing us to this story)
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