Satellite Remote Sensing for Haze Monitoring in Pearl River Delta Region

Haze is one of the main kinds of air pollution in the Pearl River delta region, and is in a significantly rising trend recently. According to the formation and characteristics of haze, the existing methods of air quality surveillance and limitations are analyzed in this paper. The complexity of formation mechanism, slow evolution, broad region, vague boundary and other features are discussed with respect to the feasibility and necessity of the application of satellite remote sensing for its monitoring and control. It is shown that a monitoring network should be built combined with space-based and ground-based stations, and that satellite remote sensing may serve as a complement to the physical-chemical analysis and new technologies.