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Description

Air pollution caused by particles with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less (PM2.5) can reduce visibility and adversely affect human health. As a result, the United Nations has addressed this type of pollution in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Recently, annual mean PM2.5 maps have been developed using MODIS, MISR, and SeaWiFS observations from 1998-2015 and have been used by organizations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and Greenpeace, to assess global air quality and health impacts. In this webinar, participants learn how to use this database to analyze PM2.5 over cities using satellite observations. This training covers data access, analyzing long-term trends, and combining PM2.5 and population datasets to understand long-term exposure.

Access the Agenda (PDF, 46 KB)

Prerequisites

Objectives

Attendees will: 

  • Become familiar with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the satellite observations of air quality that are used to calculate indicators 3.9.1 and 11.6.2
  • Learn about PM2.5 estimates made using satellite, surface, and model datasets
  • Understand how to use the 2014 WHO data set and access the indicator data for a city or country

Target Audience

Agencies involved in addressing and reporting on United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as, local, regional, state, federal, and international organizations interested in assessing PM2.5 air quality.

Course Format

  • Three 1-hour sessions

Sessions

Part 1: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Relevant Air Quality Observations

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

The goals, targets, and indicators of the UN sustainable development goals; the satellite observations of air quality that are used to calculate indicators 3.9.1 and 11.6.2; how satellite observations can fill in the gaps; and methodology and applications.

Materials

Spanish Materials

Part 2: World Health Organization (WHO) PM2.5 Data Set

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

PM2.5 estimates using satellite, surface, and model data sets for 2014, released by the WHO; how the data applies to indicators 3.9.1 and 11.6.2; and methodology, limitations, and data access.

Materials

Spanish Materials

Part 3: Case Study Analysis

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Using the 2014 WHO dataset, read and convert the data for a region of interest, complete a mapping exercise, perform a case study analysis on spatial pattern comparisons for different cities, and learn to apply all the skills learned to create a time series once more data becomes available.

English:

Spanish:

Citation

Gupta, P.; Follette-Cook, M. (2017). Satellite Derived Annual PM2.5 Datasets in Support of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. NASA Applied Remote Sensing Training Program (ARSET). https://appliedsciences.nasa.gov/join-mission/training/english/arset-satellite-derived-annual-pm25-datasets-support-united-nations

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Details

Last Updated

March 2, 2026

Published

March 2, 2026

Data Center/Project

Applied Remote Sensing Training Program (ARSET)