A Clearer Picture of China’s Air: Using Satellite Data and Ground Monitoring to Estimate PM2.5 over Time

Nate Seltenrich covers science and the environment from Petaluma, CA. His work has appeared in High Country News, Sierra, Yale Environment 360, Earth Island Journal, and other regional and national publications. About This Article open Citation: Seltenrich N. 2016. A clearer picture of China’s air: using satellite data and ground monitoring to estimate PM2.5 over time. Environ Health Perspect 124:A38; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.124-A38 Published: 1 February 2016 PDF Version (397 KB) Related EHP Article Satellite-Based Spatiotemporal Trends in PM2.5 Concentrations: China, 2004–2013 Zongwei Ma, Xuefei Hu, Andrew M. Sayer, Robert Levy, Qiang Zhang, Yingang Xue, Shilu Tong, Jun Bi, Lei Huang, and Yang Liu In early December 2015 Beijing made the international news for its hazardous, heavily polluted air, culminating with the city’s first-ever air-pollution “red alert,” a designation that closed schools and strictly limited vehicle traffic for three days.1 A similar scare occurred in January 2013, when hourly readings of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels in the Chinese capital peaked at 886 µg/m3.2 (By comparison, the World Health Organization recommends that PM2.5 averaged over 24 hours not exceed 25 µg/m3.3) Yet despite the severity of these headline-grabbing episodes, average PM2.5 levels in Beijing and China overall appear to have decreased since approximately 2008, according to a study reported in this issue of EHP.4 The absence of a nationwide grou...
Source: EHP Research - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Featured News Science Selection February 2016 Source Type: research