Unraveling overestimated exposure risks through hourly ozone retrievals from next-generation geostationary satellites.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 40204746.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-025-58652-2 and PMC identifier 11982545.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
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Abstract
Accurate ground-level ozone (O<sub>3</sub>) estimation is crucial for assessing health impacts and designing control strategies. Traditional polar-orbit satellites provide limited, one-time measurements, missing O<sub>3</sub>'s diurnal variability. Here, we utilize a next-generation geostationary satellite with ultraviolet capabilities to retrieve hourly O<sub>3</sub> concentrations, achieving high accuracy (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.94) and improving daily maximum 8-hour estimates, particularly in semi-urban areas (R<sup>2</sup> + 0.10, error reduction >7 μg/m³). Our analysis reveals a 30% drop in O<sub>3</sub>-related health risks compared to traditional polar-orbit estimates, with the greatest impact in semi-urban and rural areas where satellite data plays an important role due to the lack of ground measurements. This suggests prior estimates may have overestimated total mortality and urban-rural spillover effects. Our findings underscore the importance of geostationary satellites in capturing O<sub>3</sub> diurnal variability through refined hourly data on photochemical precursors and radiation, providing a scientific basis for health assessments and informing O<sub>3</sub> pollution regulations in China.