Archive · 26 Oct 2025
ESA Satellite Shares First Images of European Air Pollution
Imagine a special satellite, like a giant eye in space, looking down at Europe.
This satellite, called Sentinel-4, is taking pictures of the air.
It's looking for things that can make us sick, like pollution from cars and factories.
The satellite can spot different types of pollution, like nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and ozone.
These first pictures show where the air is dirtiest.
It can help scientists understand how pollution changes.
The satellite is orbiting 36,000 km above Earth.
This will help them give warnings if air quality gets bad.
ESA shared initial images from the Copernicus Sentinel-4 mission.
The Sentinel-4 mission is on board the MTG-S1 satellite.
The satellite monitors nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and ozone.
Sentinel-4 provides hourly updates on air quality over Europe and northern Africa.
The mission can help track rapid changes in pollution levels.
- Who
- European Space Agency (ESA)
- What
- Shared first images of European air pollution from the Copernicus Sentinel-4 mission.
- When
- Images were recently released
- Where
- Europe and Northern Africa
- Why
- To monitor air quality and provide timely warnings.
Environmental Advocates
Industry Representatives
Air Quality Monitoring
Environmental Advocates
Support Sentinel-4 for providing data and timely pollution alerts to protect public health.
Industry Representatives
View the data as potential overregulation of industries, impacting economic activity.
- Mission Name
- Copernicus Sentinel-4
- Satellite
- Meteosat Third Generation Sounder 1 (MTG-S1)
- Orbit
- Geostationary (36,000 km above Earth)
- Monitored Region
- Europe and Northern Africa
- Pollutants Detected
- Nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and ozone