Scientists discover unusual ozone layer above North Bay of Bengal

Scientists, led by ARIES under the Ministry of Science & Technology, detected an unusually thick ozone layer at 21‑23 km over the North Bay of Bengal, with concentrations higher than typical for eastern India. Using a coordinated network of 206.5 MHz ST radars, weather balloons, Aura MLS and INSAT‑3DR satellites, and advanced atmospheric models as part of the Phase‑I NetRAD‑ASMA campaign, they found the enhancement persisted for over a day and was linked to transport of ozone‑rich air, downward motion and compression rather than photochemical processes. The results, published in the AGU journal *Earth and Space Science*, provide quantitative evidence of stratospheric ozone redistribution over the Indian subtropics during winter.