Ozone pollution costs Asia billions in lost crops: study

In China, 33 per cent of its wheat crop is lost annually to ozone pollution. - Reuters

TOKYO (AFP): Persistently high levels of ozone pollution in Asia are costing China, Japan and South Korea an estimated US$63bil annually in lost rice, wheat and maize crops, a new study says.

While ozone forms a protective layer around the Earth in the upper atmosphere, it is a harmful pollutant at ground level.