The ESA said satellites are the only way to carry out effective global measurements of air-polluting emissions and their transboundary movement.

Scientists from around the world gathered at the ESA’s Earth Observation Center in Frascati, Italy, last week to discuss the latest atmospheric research results.

In one study, Sachin Ghude of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology said emissions of gaseous pollutants increased 5.5 percent annually in India during the past two decades due to rapid industrialization, urbanization and traffic growth.

In another study, Yuxuan Wang of Harvard University obtained measurements of the air quality over China during a traffic restriction.

The Chinese government ordered 800,000 cars off the streets of Beijing last Nov. 4-6 to facilitate organization of the China-African summit and to perform a trial for the 2008 Olympic Games.

By comparing satellite observations with ground measurements and a global chemical transport model, Wang and her colleagues determined there was a 40 percent reduction in nitrogen dioxide emissions during that period.

All of the data were acquired through ESA satellites.