Rationale and definition:

This indicator measures total aerosols (e.g. urban haze, smoke particles, desert dust, sea salt) distributed within a column of air from the Earth’s surface to the top of the atmosphere.

Disaggregation:

This indicator can be reported with a high degree of spatial disaggregation (including cities and neighborhood level).

Comments and limitations:

To be reviewed.

Preliminary assessment of current data availability by Friends of the Chair:

TBD.

Primary data source:

Remote sensing/satellite.

Potential lead agency or agencies:

An agency such as UNEP could be responsible for collecting internationally comparable data across all countries.