The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently sponsored the New England Forecasting Pilot Program to serve as a “test bed” for chemical forecasting by providing all of the elements of a National Air Quality Forecasting System, including the development and implementation of an evaluation protocol. This Pilot Program enlisted three regional-scale air quality models, serving as protot...

The National Air Quality Forecast Capability (NAQFC) currently provides next-day forecasts of ozone concentrations over the contiguous United States. It was developed collaboratively by NOAA and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in order to provide state and local agencies, as well as the general public, air quality forecast guidance. As part of the development process, the NAQFC has been eval...

Short-term exposure to air pollution can result in acute health effects, particularly for individuals with respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Air quality alert programs that notify the public about high air pollution days are critical for susceptible populations. The authors assessed how U.S. adults receive air quality alerts and whether it varies by demographic or health characteristics. The...

This paper discusses the newly developed Decision Support System version 1.0 (DSS v1.0) for air quality management activities in Delhi, India. In addition to standard air quality forecasts, DSS provides the contribution of Delhi, its surrounding districts, and stubble-burning fires in the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana to the PM2.5 load in Delhi. DSS also quantifies the effects of l...

This study addresses the pressing issue of transboundary air pollution, an environmental concern characterised by the dispersion of pollutants across administrative boundaries. Prior research in this area has lacked an in-depth examination of the efficacy of cooperative environmental policies in managing this challenge. To address this gap, our study first evaluates transboundary sulphur dioxide p...

Data from satellite instruments provide estimates of gas and particle levels relevant to human health, even pollutants invisible to the human eye. However, the successful interpretation of satellite data requires an understanding of how satellites relate to other data sources, as well as factors affecting their application to health challenges. Drawing from the expertise and experience of the 2016...

Integrating air quality information from models, satellites, and in situ monitors allows for both better estimation of air quality and better quantification of uncertainties in this estimation. Uncertainty quantification is important to appropriately convey confidence in these estimates and forecasts to users who will base decisions on these. Uncertainty quantification also allows tracing the valu...

The potential of ensemble techniques to improve ozone forecasts is investigated. Ensembles with up to 48 members (models) are generated using the modeling system Polyphemus. Members differ in their physical parameterizations, their numerical approximations, and their input data. Each model is evaluated during 4 months (summer 2001) over Europe with hundreds of stations from three ozone-monitoring ...

The purpose of this policy brief is to deepen the understanding of barriers to public investment in ambient AQ in LMICs, despite the growing political recognition of the harmful impacts. Public investment here refers to government-led investment financed through domestic public expenditure, sovereign borrowing, and external sovereign grants and loans. The analysis draws on findings from a four-mon...

Air pollution accelerates climate change and damages all aspects of planetary health, including food systems and human health. Air pollution is linked to stroke, heart disease, respiratory diseases, lung cancer, adverse pregnancy outcomes and poor cognitive development. In addition, air pollution is associated with higher mortality rates, especially among the most vulnerable. Two major sources of ...