Health

There are many threats to the health of citizens, and much that national and regional authorities can do to mitigate their effects. Copernicus can support public health authorities in monitoring health-related environmental phenomena and supplying information pertinent to their activities.

One of the critical factors affecting public health is air pollution, with several hundreds of thousands of premature deaths every year in Europe that can be attributed to fine particles present in the air we breathe. Copernicus supports pollution monitoring through the provision of daily air quality forecasts.

Similarly, it is estimated that overexposure to UV radiation is a major cause of skin cancers, which increase by 5 to 7% every year in Europe. Copernicus contributes to UV forecasts that enable people to adjust their behaviour according to their personal situation.

Copernicus can also be very useful to identify areas prone to the emergence and spread of epidemics, which greatly depend on environmental factors such as water, sanitation, food or air quality.

Screenshot from the airTEXT website - local forecast of air quality and composition around London (Credits: Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants)		Carbon Monoxide Forecast (Credits: CAMS)

Use case:

• Copernicus for monitoring the air quality in cities down to the street level by Numtech