Ozone pollution is a global problem that caused the annual loss of 63 billion dollars in food crops in East Asia alone. Among the affected agricultural products were rice and wheat, which are the staple of almost every menu we eat every day. According to a new study, the atmospheric phenomenon evidently gave a massive blow to the agricultural sector in the region. Experts believe that the problem was also induced by the toxic pollution that accumulated in the previous decade.
Ozone Pollution vs Crops in East Asia
In this photo taken on April 20, 2018 Japanese farmer Toshiko Ogura prepares rice seedling trays to plant on her paddy in Kazo city, Saitama prefecture. - A crop once deemed so important it served as a form of currency, Japanese rice has fallen out of favour with younger, westernised consumers, in a shift that has left ageing farmers struggling for survival. Rice consumption has nearly halved over the past 50 years, and as the older generation of farmers and consumers dies out, some fear the industry will be unable to hold its own in a competitive global market.
In a new study, it was found that China alone is losing a third of their wheat, one-fourth of their crops, and about nine percent of their maize crops all because of ozone pollution. From the global estimate, the country's annual loss tipped to a whopping 21.8 billion, 30.8 billion, and 7.8 billion dollars, respectively.
The collective ozone of our planet reaches a place in the stratosphere which we all know as the ozone layer. This sheet provides Earth protection from the severity of radiations coming from the sun. However, ozone could quickly become part of the aerial pollutants once it reaches the lowest level of the skies called the troposphere.
Ozone pollutants are produced whenever the sunlight fuses with fossil fuel emissions. It may seem like an ordinary atmospheric composition, but ozone pollution is the most contributor to toxic smog which usually manifests excessively during the heat of the summer season.
Ozone pollution, according to previous studies, has lessened in Europe and North America in the span of almost 20 years. However, a study led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University revealed that ozone pollution is rising instead in East Asia.
Experts believed that the rise of ozone pollution in the region has been triggered by evident industrialization, transportation developments, as well as urbanizing populations: all of which harnesses energy from the traditional fossil fuel sources.
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East Asia's Fossil Fuel Burns Induce Ozone Pollution, Destroys Agriculture
East Asia heavily relies on burning fossil fuels. In 2018, over 28 percent of the global manufactured goods originated from China alone. Moreover, eight of the ten largest ports that serve as the gateway to massive shipping are located in the same region.
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, East Asia is responsible for producing 43 percent of rice, 22 percent of wheat, and 29 percent of maize to the global market in 2020. The greatest contributors to the crops in the region are China, South Korea, and Japan.
University of Tokyo's agriculture and life sciences expert Kazuhiko Kobayashi, who co-authored the study, said in a Landscape News report that ozone problems could inflict the yield of crops, and because of its fluctuating effects, the harvest may be different from what the farmers have predicted.
The expert added that ozone impacts do not leave any clues about the presence of ozone in crops and plants. Ozone plollution affects agriculture across nearby countries on a macro-scale, which may be hard to read especially in small-scale and individual farms.
The study observed the ozone levels above the region for six consecutive months. After gathering the data, it was then compared to the last three years of ozone readings. By referencing the sensitivity of the staple crop from the ozone, the authors were able to get ahold of the results which include the yield lost. The approach of the study included numerous agricultural factors, including the use of an antiozonant composition called ethylene diurea.
The study concluded that the wheat crops highly suffered from ozone pollution compared to other crops. The ozone hotspot, which is located in the northern China plain, experienced the most devastating wheat yields. South Korea and Japan lost 28 percent and 16 percent of their annual wheat harvest, respectively.
Nanjing University expert and author of the study Zhaozhong Feng said in the report that by simply reducing the ozone pollution, agriculture will probably produce more staple food for consumers, more harvest for farmers, lesser cultivation of farms, and competitive circulation across national economies. The study was published in the journal Nature Food, titled "Ozone pollution threatens the production of major staple crops in East Asia."
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