Air Pollution’s Daily Pulse Over the Northeast

The TEMPO mission helped scientists track morning nitrogen dioxide that contributed to afternoon ozone along the New York–Washington corridor in May 2026.

More than 35 million people live along the New York–Washington corridor and breathe the region's air.

While air quality has improved significantly in recent decades, outbreaks of ground-level ozone remain common, particularly in the warm summer months, when the chemical reactions that produce the pollutant accelerate and stagnant air allows ozone to accumulate.