How are ozone and particle pollution harmful?
Ozone tends to be more of a problem in the warm summer months. Levels of this colorless, odorless gas can increase during the day, peaking in the late afternoon to early evening. At elevated levels, ozone is a threat to everyone’s health, but those who are most susceptible are people with lung diseases such as asthma, children, older adults and healthy people who are active outdoors. Ozone causes cells in the lungs to swell and get inflamed – similar to what happens to your skin cells when you get sunburned. Repeated episodes of this kind of inflammation may cause permanent damage to the lungs.
