NASA TEMPO satellite improves North American air quality monitoring

NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) satellite is providing near-real-time, hourly snapshots of pollutants across North America. Positioned 22,000 miles above the equator, the satellite tracks the origin, migration, and dissipation of gases and particulates in the daytime atmosphere.

This technology offers a continent-scale view that helps researchers and regulators respond to unpredictable air quality crises, such as those caused by wildfires in cities like Portland, New York, Denver, Chicago, and Toledo. Unlike previous satellites that provided only one or two daily snapshots, TEMPO captures what scientists call ‘chemical weather,’ illustrating how pollution varies from hour to hour.

While the United States has seen significant reductions in hazardous air pollutants since the 1970 Clean Air Act, progress has stalled over the last 15 years regarding ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5).