This case study examines the use of data from Sentinel 3 and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) to provide information on air quality to citizens of Riga, Latvia. The data is combined with a model of the local urban environment to enable a map of forecast air pollution to be generated. This information is available through a service called airTEXT which provides guidance on pollution exposure to local citizens. The study also references London where the service was first installed.
The city and local authorities in Riga make the application available to their citizens as well as through other multi-information channels. Citizens benefit from this service by moderating their activities when poor air is forecast thereby protecting their health and reducing the risk of needing emergency hospital treatment. Hospitals, local businesses, and local authorities use the forecasts to assist with planning and relevant policy decisions. The system can help reduce hospital admissions, working days lost and in the extreme premature deaths.
Socio-environmental benefits – information obtained through CAMs/airTEXT provides information to understand local and wider causes of air pollution. Measures taken to reduce air pollution for human health have a secondary effect of improving conditions that affect the ecosystem more broadly.
Regulatory benefits – the authors find that airTEXT makes a moderate contribution to regulation to control air pollution by providing a tool to help frame and monitor regulations at the local level.
Innovation and entrepreneurship benefits – there are opportunities to improve the quality and accuracy of measurement as well as communicating alerts to those at risk.
Science and technology advancement – the use of CAMS/airTEXT supports research and development into avoidance behaviour and health consequences and also supports a better understanding of local and global causes of air pollution.
Societal benefits – the authors consider the overall societal impact of information on the levels of air pollution to be extremely high. Vulnerable citizens are able to manage risk and improve their longevity and quality of life. The forecasting supports health practitioners and reduces hospital admissions. The service also raises public awareness which drives political action as well as encouraging and supporting exchange between different stakeholders.
The study takes two approaches to assess the economic benefit derived from the use of Sentinel data:
The economic case shows a potential benefit stemming from the use of Sentinel data to provide air quality forecasts and to combat health impacts of poor air quality, of EUR 175k to Latvia and EUR 3.8m per year in the UK. The authors further estimate that if the Latvia and UK numbers are scaled to the whole of Europe, the total benefit would be around EUR 30m.
Find this article at:
https://earsc.org/sebs/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Air-Quality-Monitoring-in-Latvia-vfinal.pdf
This case study, undertaken by the European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC, is one in a series of case studies from the Sentinel Economic Benefits Study (SEBS) – a large study to show how Earth Observation (EO) derived products and services, based on data generated by one or more Sentinel satellites, deliver value to society and citizens.