ozone: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 8, 2026

News •

Dirty air actually breaks down the smell of flowers and stops bees and moths from finding their food • Nov. 6, 2026, 2:22 PM ET (Earth.com)

Why more than half the world has likely breathed unhealthy air this year • Oct. 26, 2026, 1:00 PM ET (Washington Post)

Facts

Also Known As	O3

Photos and Videos

Curved horizon of Earth seen from space with a blue atmospheric layer above white clouds, set against a black sky filled with stars.

Three researchers in winter clothing launch a large transparent balloon carrying an ozonesonde on a snowy field at South Pole Station in Antarctica, with research buildings in the background.

Figure 16: Column abundance of O3 as function of latitude and time of year in Dobson units (one Dobson unit defines the content of O3 in a column of one-millimetre length at standard air pressure and temperature).

Diagram illustrating ozone chemistry in pure oxygen, showing the cyclical reactions between molecular oxygen (O2), atomic oxygen (O), and ozone (O3), with arrows indicating conversion steps and the role of light energy.

New York City skyline tinted orange from wildfire smoke.

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Topics

air pollution Greenhouse gas Ozone layer criteria air pollutant air Biogenic gas oxygen allotrope graphene graphite diamond

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Key People

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Christian Friedrich Schönbein

German chemist

Thomas Andrews.

Thomas Andrews

Irish chemist and physicist