Megacities are extreme examples of the continuously growing urbanization of the human population that pose (new) challenges to the environment and human health at a local scale. However, because of their size megacities also have larger-scale effects, and more research is needed to quantify their regional- and global-scale impacts.

This study quantifies the regional and global scale impact of a set of 36 mega-cities of black carbon emissions in 2003-2005. In sum, the study showed that the pollution of urban origin in the lower troposphere of the Arctic is mainly generated by northern European sources. Finally it was also found that the exposure of human population to megacity pollution occurs mainly inside the city boundaries, and this is especially true if deposition is accounted for.

Download the document here: The dispersion characteristics of air pollution from the world’s megacities