Worsened Ozone Pollution Exacerbates the Loss of Agricultural Production in China

Abstract China has been experiencing severe ozone (O 3 ) pollution, and the high concentration of O 3 exposure can damage crop production, which will threaten the national food security. To better estimate the impact of O 3 on crop production loss (CPL), we collect O 3 data from CNEMC (China National Environmental Monitoring Centre) and CMIP6 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6) models to quantify O 3 ‐induced production losses in the four main crops (i.e., wheat, rice, maize, and soybean) during the historical (2013–2018) and future (2019–2099) periods. Results confirm that the impacts of O 3 damage on CPLs become more and more serious during 2013–2018 in China, with the 6‐year mean losses of 12.2 Mt (8.5%) for wheat, 8.4 Mt (3.8%) of rice, 4.3 Mt (1.6%) of maize, and 0.7 Mt (4.8%) of soybean. The worsened O 3 pollution under SSP3‐7.0 scenario during the late‐century will cause 283.6% (170.3%, 479.4%, 168.0%) increase in wheat (rice, maize, soybean) production losses relative to that in 2018, while the improved O 3 air quality under SSP1‐2.6 scenario can decrease 73.8% (69.3%, 80.8%, 75.5%) wheat (rice, maize, soybean) yield losses during the late‐century relative to 2018. China has the largest population and food consumption worldwide, and the persistent O 3 deterioration does have exacerbated the loss of agricultural productions. Therefore, stricter control measures are urgently needed to improve O 3 air quality for ensuring national and even per capita food security in future.