Soot. Exhaust. Smog.

Soot. Exhaust. Smog.

Air pollutants can travel in wind and wildfire smoke, brew by day, and change by the hour. Existing air quality monitors can’t tell every neighborhood's story. NASA’s STAQS mission is helping paint a 3D picture of the air we breathe.

While poor air quality affects everyone, there are pollution hotspots that can adversely affect those nearest. For example, neighborhoods located near highways and warehouses can be hotspots of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and hazardous particles called PM2.5, which are more than 35 times smaller in diameter than a grain of sand.