Since April 2023, the civil war in Sudan has caused widespread disruption in the capital region and across the country.
Satellite-based emission estimates reveal a clear signal of these disruptions: NOx emissions over Khartoum and the nearby Al-Jaili industrial complex sharply decreased after the outbreak of the conflict.
Before 2023, two emission hotspots were visible in the Khartoum region: urban emissions from the city and the Al-Jaili industrial complex, located about 60–70 km north of Khartoum and hosting Sudan’s main oil refinery, petrochemical facilities, and the El Jaili thermal power plant. From 2023 onward, a strong decline in NOx emissions can be observed, likely reflecting disruptions to refinery operations, power generation, transportation, and overall urban activity.
Using TROPOMI NO2 observations from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite, we derive NOx emission maps using a data-driven emission estimation approach. These satellite-derived maps highlight major combustion sources such as cities, power plants, and industrial facilities.
Tracking atmospheric pollution from space allows monitoring of critical infrastructure activity and socio-economic disruptions in conflict-affected regions, complementing high-resolution satellite imagery and other Earth observation data for security, safety, and humanitarian applications.
These results are featured on the Emission Observatory platform, which demonstrates through case studies how satellite-based information can be used to monitor emission hotspots.
Data: TROPOMI / Copernicus Sentinel-5P (@European Space Agency – ESA)
Research: @Finnish Meteorological Institute
Funding: @Suomen Akatemia (Academy of Finland) @strateginentutkimus
#EarthObservation #TROPOMI #Sentinel5P #RemoteSensing #AirPollution #SatelliteData #AtmosphericScience #SecurityApplications #ConflictMonitoring #SpaceEconomy #Copernicus #SpaceData
