Visualising historical changes in air  pollution with the Air Quality Stripes

Pringle, Kirsty J.; Rigby, Richard; Turnock, Steven T.; Reddington, Carly L.; Shayakhmetova, Meruyert; Illingworth, Malcolm; Barclay, Denis; Chue Hong, Neil; Hawkins, Ed; Hamilton, Douglas S.; Brain, Ethan; McQuaid, James B.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-8-229-2025

Articles | Volume 8, issue 4

https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-8-229-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-8-229-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 8, issue 4

GC Letters

| Highlight paper

|

01 Oct 2025

GC Letters | Highlight paper |

| 01 Oct 2025

Visualising historical changes in air pollution with the Air Quality Stripes

Kirsty J. Pringle, Richard Rigby, Steven T. Turnock, Carly L. Reddington, Meruyert Shayakhmetova, Malcolm Illingworth, Denis Barclay, Neil Chue Hong, Ed Hawkins, Douglas S. Hamilton, Ethan Brain, and James B. McQuaid

Data sets

Air Quality Stripes (V1pt6) Kirsty Pringle and Jim McQuaid https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14360345

Model code and software

Air Quality Stripes: Code used to create images (V1pt6_b) Kirsty Pringle and Richard Rigby https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14393148

Short summary

The Air Quality Stripes images visualise historical changes in particulate matter air pollution in over 150 cities worldwide. The project celebrates significant improvements in air quality in regions like Europe, North America, and China while highlighting the urgent need for action in areas such as central Asia. Designed to raise awareness, the images aim to inspire discussions about the critical impact of air pollution and the global inequalities it causes.