ENVISION Issue 23 (Feb/Mar 2025):
"Breathing Easy – Decoding Our Air"

Associate Professor Yu Liya, the Lead Principal Investigator (PI) from the NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI) and NUS Civil and Environmental Engineering (NUS CEE), is collaborating with Co-PIs, Associate Professor Steve Yim of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Dr. Santo Salinas from the NUS Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing, and Processing (CRISP) to advance scientific understanding of air pollution sources in tropical urban environments.

The team embarked on a research project ‘Characterisation of Tropical Urban Air Quality’, supported by NEA’s Air Quality Monitoring and Control Funding Initiative since April 2023. This study aims to better understand air pollutants in the tropical ambient environment, their emissions sources, atmospheric transformations, and implications on mitigation strategies.

This project offers insights into the origins and ambient chemical reactions of gaseous pollutants and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and emerging contaminants (e.g. airborne nano-plastics and PFASs) - all associated with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. By examining air quality at both local and regional scales, the team is facilitating the formulation of sustainable urban policies and strategies to enhance air quality management in Singapore.