Store
GS3 · Atmosphere

Unusual ozone-rich layer found over the North Bay of Bengal

2 min readAtmosphere
Battle IAS current affairs title card: Unusual ozone-rich layer found over the North Bay of Bengal (GS3 · Atmosphere, 10 August 2026)
Asked by UPSCPrelims 20151 PYQ

UPSC has already asked about this. Read the story with these questions in mind.

Battle Brief

Scientists, with ARIES Nainital as a key participant, found an unusually thick ozone layer about 21 to 23 km above the North Bay of Bengal during the NetRAD-ASMA campaign. It lasted over a day, by day and night. The study, in AGU’s Earth and Space Science, links it to ozone-rich air being carried in, then sinking and compressing.

Fact File

Released
10 Aug 2026, DST
Where
about 21 to 23 km above the North Bay of Bengal
Normal peak
about 25 to 30 km altitude
Campaign
Phase-I NetRAD-ASMA, winter
Key institute
ARIES, Nainital (DST)
Tools
206.5 MHz ST Radar, balloons, Aura MLS and INSAT-3DR satellites
In the news

The ozone-rich layer over the Bay of Bengal: what happened?

The ozone layer absorbs harmful ultraviolet rays. Its thickness depends not only on chemistry but also on how winds move air in the stratosphere. This finding shows that movement at work over eastern India.

  • The layer held much more ozone than normally seen over eastern India.
  • It was seen by day and by night, so sunlight-driven chemistry was unlikely to be the cause.
  • Radars showed persistent downward air motion in the lower stratosphere.
  • Radars at Nainital, Haringhata, Gadanki and Kochi gave data together.
Back Story

What is an ST radar?

  • A Stratosphere-Troposphere radar measures winds and vertical air movement up to the lower stratosphere.
  • ARIES built its 206.5 MHz ST Radar indigenously.
Why examiners care

Why does the ozone-rich layer over the Bay of Bengal matter?

  • Science: Shows how transport shapes ozone over the subtropics.
  • Capacity: Highlights India’s own radar network.
Exam Radar

What can Prelims ask on the ozone-rich layer over the Bay of Bengal?

  • ARIES: Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Nainital (DST).
  • Ozone layer normally peaks at about 25 to 30 km.
  • Unusual layer: 21 to 23 km over North Bay of Bengal.
UPPCS Corner

What should UPPCS aspirants note?

  • ARIES is in Nainital (Uttarakhand), a frequent fact in UP and Uttarakhand exams.

How to use this in Mains

GS-III Important geophysical phenomena; monsoon

  1. As per PIB (2026-08-10): scientists detected unusually high stratospheric ozone over the North Bay of Bengal, helping understand ozone transport by air currents.
  2. The layer helps explain how air moves between the stratosphere and troposphere.
Quotable data point

Scientists detected unusually high stratospheric ozone over the North Bay of Bengal, helping understand ozone transport by air currents.

PIB: S&T: ozone over Bay of Bengal, 10 Aug 2026

Exam angle

UPSC

Prelims: ozone layer basics.

Practice MCQs

Original practice questions (not PYQs).

Practice · UPSC

The enhanced ozone layer over the North Bay of Bengal was seen during both day and night. This suggests that its main cause was

Answer (b) & explanation

PIB (DST), 10 Aug 2026.

Quick questions

Questions students ask about this

What did scientists find over the Bay of Bengal?

An unusually thick ozone layer at about 21 to 23 km altitude that lasted more than a day.

What caused it?

Transport of ozone-rich air, followed by downward air motion and compression.

Which Indian institute led the radar work?

ARIES, Nainital, an autonomous institute under DST.

Keep studying

Official source: PIB: S&T: ozone over Bay of Bengal, 10 Aug 2026

facts from cited sources only; faculty review pending