Paris (France) (AFP) – Heatwaves and wildfires combined with human-caused emissions this year combined to expose one third of the world’s population to extremely high levels of ozone pollution, a European Union report said on Wednesday.

In a new analysis covering the first eight months of 2026, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) highlighted the close relationship between climate change and air pollution.

When heat and sunlight react with airborne emissions from wildfires, vehicles and industry, they create ground-level ozone pollution, which can damage lung tissue, cause breathing problems, trigger asthma attacks and lead to other health issues.

Despite progress in cutting the most harmful air pollutants in recent decades, ozone has proved more difficult to tackle as climate change fuels the conditions that favour its formation.

This year’s ozone pollution was driven in part by record-breaking heatwaves and wildfires that seared Europe and North America and sent smoke well beyond their borders.

Indonesia has experienced major wildfires, while the warming El Nino weather pattern, which started in June and is due to peak later this year, could drive more fires in southeast Asia, according to the analysis.

“Air pollution does not stop at borders. It can travel thousands of kilometres, crossing continents and oceans and affecting air quality far from its source,” CAMS director Laurence Rouil said in the Atmosphere Watch report.

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