Getting Down to Earth: Are Satellites Reliable for Measuring Air Pollutants That Cause Mortality in Low- and Middle-Income Countries?

doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-1727-4

Publication:
Getting Down to Earth: Are Satellites Reliable for Measuring Air Pollutants That Cause Mortality in Low- and Middle-Income Countries?

dc.contributor.author	World Bank
dc.date.accessioned	2022-01-07T16:59:56Z
dc.date.available	2022-01-07T16:59:56Z
dc.date.issued	2022-01-07
dc.description.abstract	Outdoor air pollution accounts for an estimated 4.2 million deaths worldwide, the majority of which are caused by exposure to fine particulate matter (or PM2.5) air pollution. Most of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Reducing PM2.5 air pollution is thus crucial for improving public-health outcomes in those countries. Measuring and reducing the health impacts of PM2.5 is especially challenging in many LMICs because ground-level air-quality monitoring networks are typically nonexistent. Where they are in place, they are often not properly operated and maintained and are thus unreliable. Limited local expertise in air-quality measurement presents additional challenges. These shortcomings can undermine a country’s ability to design and implement effective policies to improve outdoor air quality. Satellite technology has been used successfully for measuring air quality in high-income countries where operation of ground-level air-quality monitoring networks is well established. However, Getting Down to Earth: Are Satellites Reliable for Measuring Air Pollutants That Cause Mortality in Low- and Middle-Income Countries? investigates the performance of satellites in LMICs for predicting outdoor concentrations of PM2.5, based on case studies in nine cities in different regions representing a range of environmental conditions (including mountainous, dusty, and coastal). The report finds that the satellite-derived estimates of PM2.5 in LMICs are associated with very large uncertainty, ranging from 21 percent to 85 percent depending on the model used for translating satellite measurements of aerosol optical depth—the parameter measured by satellites—to surface-level outdoor PM2.5 concentrations. This report shows that satellites are unreliable for estimating ambient concentrations of PM2.5 in LMICs. Furthermore, satellite-derived measurements cannot replace properly operated and maintained ground-level monitoring networks for measuring the concentrations of PM2.5 that human beings are typically exposed to daily. Thus, it is important that LMICs strengthen support for the establishment of ground-level monitoring networks to measure air pollutants, notably PM2.5, that cause mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa and other regions with LMICs.	en
dc.identifier	https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/445131641786854437/getting-down-to-earth-are-satellites-reliable-for-measuring-air-pollutants-that-cause-mortality-in-low-and-middle-income-countries
dc.identifier.doi	10.1596/978-1-4648-1727-4
dc.identifier.isbn	978-1-4648-1727-4
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10986/36804
dc.publisher	Washington, DC: World Bank
dc.relation.ispartofseries	International Development in Focus;
dc.rights	CC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holder	World Bank
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo
dc.subject	PARTICULATE MATTER
dc.subject	AIR POLLUTION
dc.subject	POLLUTION CONTROL
dc.subject	MORTALITY
dc.subject	SATELLITE IMAGERY
dc.subject	MONITORING STATION
dc.title	Getting Down to Earth	en
dc.title.subtitle	Are Satellites Reliable for Measuring Air Pollutants That Cause Mortality in Low- and Middle-Income Countries?	en
dc.type	Book	en
dc.type	Livre	fr
dc.type	Libro	es
dspace.entity.type	Publication
okr.date.disclosure	2022-01-07
okr.doctype	Publications & Research
okr.doctype	Publications & Research::Publication
okr.guid	445131641786854437
okr.identifier.doi	10.1596/978-1-4648-1727-4
okr.identifier.report	167750
okr.language.supported	en
okr.topic	Environment::Air Quality & Clean Air
okr.topic	Environment::Pollution Management & Control
okr.topic	Health, Nutrition and Population::Health Monitoring & Evaluation
okr.topic	Health, Nutrition and Population::Public Health Promotion
okr.topic	Science and Technology Development::Earth Sciences & GIS
okr.unit	GENGE