Editorial for the Special Issue “Air Quality Research Using Remote Sensing”

Abstract

Air pollution is a worldwide environmental hazard with serious consequences for health and climate as well as for agriculture, ecosystems, and cultural heritage, among others. According to the WHO, there are 8 million premature deaths every year resulting from exposure to ambient air pollution. In addition, more than 90% of the world’s population lives in places where air quality is poor, exceeding the recommended limits; most of these places are in low- or middle-income countries. Air pollution and climate influence each other through complex physicochemical interactions in the atmosphere, altering the Earth’s energy balance, with implications for climate change and air quality.