How satellites and AI can help tackle air pollution
Climate TRACE, co-founded by Al Gore, is using satellites and AI to spot where dangerous soot pollution comes from—right down to neighborhoods in 2,500 cities worldwide.
This tech brings a new level of transparency by mapping out pollution plumes and calling out the biggest polluters.
Mapping out pollution plumes
Climate TRACE pulls data from 300 satellites and 30,000 ground sensors, then runs it through AI to pinpoint more than 137,000 sources of particle pollution—including nearly 4,000 "super emitters."
Right now you get long-term trends, but Gore hopes that in about a year, daily local air quality updates could be available through your weather app.
Holding polluters accountable
Soot pollution kills close to nine million people every year.
By showing exactly who's causing the most harm—especially in cities like Karachi, Guangzhou, New York City, and Seoul—this system helps communities push for cleaner air and gives leaders real data to hold polluters accountable.