The UN Environment Programme is leading the deployment of affordable air quality monitoring networks for assessing air pollution in cities and proactively assessing the viability of fusing satellite and ground observations in developing countries where data gaps for air quality has persisted for decades. Interest and request for technical support has been expressed by more than 50 countries and air quality focal points within local governments established with UNEP to engage in efforts.
Recent advancements of low-cost air quality sensor technology combined with remote sensing and traditional monitoring methods present a new opportunity to understand and communicate air quality. Satellite observations offer global coverage and has the potential to provide a comprehensive view of PM2.5 concentrations in near-real time when combined with ground-level monitor data. Recent advances in modelling offers a resolution of less than 1 square kilometer. Since 2009, the United States has been refining a system to fuse NASA/NOAA satellite-estimated surface PM2.5 concentrations with ground-level observations of PM2.5 to improve spatial coverages of estimates for the United States. .
The new air quality monitoring framework integrates data from satellites, air quality reference monitors (where available), and compliments these measurements from low-cost sensor networks to improve spatial and temporal coverage. The initial output of this project has been realized through a collaboration with UN Habitat and IQAir.
