Ozone-induced damage to the wheat crop at a high-altitude site in western India

Uncertainty about ozone damage to crops in India is a matter of debate. In this study, the ozone-imparted crop loss and economic cost loss for an important staple crop (wheat) have been calculated for the first time at a high-altitude site (Mahabaleshwar, 17°55'30"N, 73°39'36"E, 1353m asl) located in the state of Maharashtra (India) for the years 2018 and 2019. The MAPAN (Modeling Air Pollution and Networking) database has been used for this purpose. The exposure indices of ozone (AOT40 and W126) and the concentration-oriented metrics (M7) show reasonably high values during the non-monsoon period, especially in the winter months. The high levels of ozone are mainly contributed to by the horizontal and vertical transport of ozone, and the effect of local photochemical production is not significant on the ozone mixing ratios. The relative yield loss and production loss for the wheat crop, which grows in the wintertime, are as high as 22–79% and 21.5–81.9%, respectively. The associated annual economic loss is around $1.04 million during this period. A reliable and effective mitigation strategy needs to be developed to protect the vegetation and ecology of areas with high elevation from significant ozone damage.