Air Quality

Our air quality cluster will study where air pollution comes from, how it forms, and how it moves in the air, under the influence of climate change. We will also examine how air pollution affects people’s health, focusing on lung diseases, heart diseases, cancer, and the risk of early death. Finally, we will explore ways to reduce air pollution and its harmful effects on health, aiming to support policy making and protect population.

Research Focus

  • Utilizing the state-of-the-art multi-scale atmospheric models, along with measurement and statistical approaches, to understand the mechanisms that drive the climate-air quality interactions.
  • Evaluating the impacts of air quality and climates on human heat and air pollution exposure, mosquito abundance, and the resultant diseases.
  • Understanding how tropical climates changed during the late Pleistocene and Holocene and their connections to global climate shifts.
  • Using terrestrial and marine sediment samples, such as speleothems and corals, along with radiometric dating and isotopic analyses to assess past climate and sea-level changes.
  • Investigating how tropical climate variations influenced human societies and vice versa.
Assoc Prof. Wang Xianfeng, Assistant Chair (Research), Asian School of the Environment
Assoc Prof. Wang Xianfeng
Assistant Chair (Research)
Asian School of the Environment

Assoc prof. Steve Huan-Lam Yim, Assistant Chair (Faculty) Asian School of the Environment
Assoc Prof. Steve Hung Lam-Yim
Assistant Chair (Faculty)
Asian School of the Environment

LIDAR is an equipment deployed to enhance atmospheric research

3DREAMS@SG

To enhance atmospheric research in Singapore, Halo Photonics StreamLine XR Doppler LiDAR has been deployed to study aerosol profiles and wind dynamics in upper atmosphere. The system is capable of detecting features up to 12 km high with 60 m resolution, it operates in Stare mode for vertical velocity and SNR measurements and VAD mode for horizontal wind profiling. Our first unit was installed at NTU (west) in September 2023, with a second planned at Raffles Girls' School (central) by March 2025, followed by expansion to northern Singapore. This LiDAR network will enhance our understanding of atmospheric dynamics, pollution transport, and climate interactions.

More Information

Selected Publications

1. Yim, S., Li, Y., Huang, T., Lim, J., Lee, H., Chotirmall, S., Dong, G., Abisheganaden, J., Wedzicha, J., Schuster, S., Horton, B., & Sung, J. (2024). Global health impacts of ambient fine particulate pollution associated with climate variability. Environment International, 186, 108587. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2024.108587

2. Ray, I., Mitra, S., Kayee, J., Yuan, S., Nagendra, S. M. S., Wang, X., & Das, R. (2024). Dominance of open burning signatures in PM2.5 near coal plant should redefine pollutant priorities of India. Npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-024-00836-6

3. Yuan, S., Chiang, H., Liu, G., Bijaksana, S., He, S., Jiang, X., Imran, A. M., Wicaksono, S. A., & Wang, X. (2023). The strength, position, and width changes of the intertropical convergence zone since the Last Glacial Maximum. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(47). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2217064120