NEWS

 If you feel dizzier in summer, there is a good reason for it. As the mercury mounts, a little-known summer pollutant comes to play,
 jeopardising public health. Ozone — not the atmospheric layer that protects us from ultraviolet radiation — but a hovering pollutant
 created in summer by the steady mix of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides (Nox), is on the rise in Delhi. Data collected by the   Central   Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and analysed by the Centre of Science and Environment (CSE) shows that ozone levels  peak in the city with   heat. Ozone remains an overlooked, but dangerous pollutant. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) does not monitor ozone levels in the Capital at all. Meanwhile, parent body CPCB monitors different pollutants like NOx, sulphur dioxide, suspended particulate matter (SPM), respirable SPM and carbon monoxide at 40 different places in the city. But ozone levels are monitored only at   three places — ITO, Siri Fort and Bawana. The government says it   will consider studying ozone seriously if reports and research on   its impact comes its way. “The DPCC does not monitor ozone levels; however, that does not mean we don’t recognise it as a pollutant.   Monitoring also requires better machinery. If we are presented with reports on this pollutant, we shall be open to studying and   monitoring this pollutant,” says Dr A K ambasht, Member Secretary, DPCC.