Integral assessment of atmospheric air quality in the largest cities of Russia based on TROPOMI (Sentinel-5P) data for 2019–2020

The article considers the level of atmospheric air pollution of the 20 largest cities in Russia in 2019–2020. Data used for the study is initially collected by TROPOMI instrument (satellite Sentinel-5P), including measurements of carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and aerosol (aerosol index). The measurements were obtained using the cloud-based platform, Google Earth Engine, which presents L3 level data available for direct analysis. The Tropomi Air Quality Index (TAQI) integrates available TROPOMI measurements into a single indicator. The Tropomi Air Quality Index (TAQI) integrates available TROPOMI measurements into a single indicator. The calculation results showed that most of the cities under consideration (15 out of 20) have a low or higher than usual level of pollution. Formaldehyde (35.7 %) and nitrogen dioxide (26.4 %) play the main role in the composition of pollution particles. A significant share is occupied by sulphur dioxide (16.4%). The contribution of carbon monoxide and aerosol averages to about 10 %. Air pollution in cities is caused by both natural (wildfires, dust storms) and anthropogenic (seasonal migrations of the population, restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic) factors. Estimating atmospheric pollution levels in urban areas using an index based on remote data (such as TAQI) can be considered as an information valuable addition to existing ground-based measuring systems within the framework of the multisensory paradigm. © 2022 Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.