We will soon know hour by hour air pollution like the weather. It is the result of an international collaboration to put into orbit equipment allowing very fine monitoring of air quality from space. We could quickly find out if there is major pollution at a location and better inform the population.
We may soon have pollution bulletins since we will be able to follow the evolution of air quality, hour by hour, around the world.
For the first time, we are going to have satellites that monitor pollution as precisely and as frequently as weather satellites.
So far, at best, we have had a statement once a day. So it's impossible to know, for example, the impact of rush hour traffic or machinery that is turned on for an hour here and there. Suddenly, we rely on ground stations. But you lose the overall coverage and you end up with a card with lots of holes.
With these new satellites, if there is an accident like that of Lubrizol, a huge fire like in Australia or a degassing at sea, it will be like with storms. We will find out in less than an hour and we will be able to warn the population more effectively.
When will these satellites be usable?
It begins. The first were launched a few days ago to cover all of Asia. In 2022, it will be America's turn, then Europe in 2023. In fact, it is an international collaboration between ESA (the European space agency), NASA and South Korea . Everyone is committed to using the same equipment and sharing information.
And what type of pollution will we be able to detect?
All nitrogen oxides (the famous Nox), but also fine particles, smog or formaldehydes. In short, anything that can have a harmful effect on health.
So we will know what type of pollution, how it travels between countries, regions. Finally, we will have reliable forecasts of air quality, even in remote areas.