Particulate Matters: Addressing Global Urban Air Pollution

Fine particle (PM2.5) air pollution is a leading risk for mortality, resulting in more than 7% of all human deaths worldwide. Here, we present two analyses that help frame the global air pollution problem. First, using an unusually detailed satellite remote sensing dataset, we show how particle air pollution levels have evolved over the past two decades in every city in the world. Second, we present the case study of Delhi, India - the world’s most polluted megacity - where we are using detailed measurements to understand the drivers of the city’s extremely poor air quality. The seminar will highlight how the challenge of improving global air quality shares many conceptual similarities with the problem of climate change mitigation.

Speaker: Joshua Apte, Univ. of Texas at Austin