Abstract Introduction According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2025, extreme weather events and environmental pollution, coupled with misinformation and disinformation, are among the leading global risks of this decade. Concurrent hazards, like extreme heat and air pollution (concentrations of ground-level ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and fine particulate matter), can exacerbate symptoms and lead to cascading health effects. Notably, NASA Earth science data can provide near real-time spatial and temporal information on these environmental parameters of public health importance to enhance the holistic understanding of observable air quality trends. Using the One Health approach, health professionals can collaborate with Earth scientists, incorporate epidemiological and environmental data to assess harmful emission hotspots, and develop appropriate health messaging to protect patient respiratory health and well-being. Methods Using a case study approach, we describe how NASA satellite data, models, and visualizations (e.g., MODIS/VIIRS, Landsat) on air pollution trends (fine particulate matter, PM2.5) can help promote research-stakeholder collaborations and the development of novel air quality management tools for educational initiatives and policy decisions. Specifically, we will highlight three examples (wildfires, dust storms, urban pollution) that offer decision-support tools for air quality monitoring in the continental United States and India, respectively. Results NASA satellite data have demonstrated strengthened decision-support tools for meteorological services and environmental managers in the United States and India. First, the FireAQ Decision Support System (http://fireaq.uiowa.edu/) incorporated satellite products, ground measurements, and models to communicate wildfire smoke alerts in the United States, leading to weekly discussions with state and regional air quality agencies. Second, novel methods for incorporating satellite products into NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability (NAQFC) (https://airquality.weather.gov/) resulted in 72-hour dust operational forecasts in the United States, while simultaneously establishing the Dust Alliance for North America. Third, the Air Quality Early Warning System (https://ews.tropmet.res.in/) developed high-resolution (400m to 2km) 72-hour air quality forecasting systems for Indian megacities, helping to inform the Commission of Air Quality Management’s key decisions related to pollution mitigation. Conclusions Health professionals are clinical and public health experts who represent a fundamental community voice that can translate complex research findings into user-friendly health messages. By utilizing Earth science data visualizations on air quality hazards - including the Earth Information Center’s dashboard (https://earth.gov/) - they can lead patient and community education programs and ultimately enhance patient and community rapport, improve health literacy, and safeguard health and well-being. This abstract is funded by: NASA
Chapman et al. (Fri,) studied this question.