Stars Stories
GLOBE Europe and Eurasia: Students Use Air Quality Data to Drive Change
Across the GLOBE Europe and Eurasia community, students in Malta, the Netherlands, and Ireland are collecting air quality data to investigate pollution in their local environments and identify opportunities for change.
The main goals of the air quality campaigns are to raise awareness around air pollution, collect accurate air quality data that is comparable with other data sets, and to empower young people to take informed action, transforming scientific learning into meaningful community change.
The GLOBE Europe and Eurasia region has a longstanding air quality collaboration group that has previously hosted international student-sharing webinars where students present their air quality stories and learn from their peers and air quality experts across the region.
2026–27 School Year
Since the beginning of the academic year, all three countries have been measuring nitrogen dioxide (NO₂)—a traffic-related pollutant—using diffusion tubes (Palmes tubes) for a 1-month period. GLOBE Netherlands also has a well-established, year-round monitoring campaign of fine air particles, or particulate matter (PM).
In Ireland, 230 schools have been measuring NO₂ at three locations on their school grounds for a 1-month period, combining NO₂ monitoring, traffic counts, clean air mapping, and GLOBE weather observations to identify local pollution hotspots.
In Malta, 17 schools across the islands of Malta and Gozo will measure NO₂ using diffusion tubes, monitor pollutants including PM and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and record daily weather observations using the GLOBE Observer app. During the 4-week observation period (from 9 November through 4 December), students will also carry out traffic counts. Data collected will be shared with the Environment and Resources Authority in Malta.
In the Netherlands, more than 100 schools are participating in PM monitoring during the 2026–27 school year using the Sniffer Bike (a bicycle equipped with sensors that measure PM as cyclists travel through their local communities) to investigate air quality in their local areas. Around 30 schools take part in each of the spring and autumn NO₂ campaigns.
Impact and Dissemination
The impact of the air quality campaigns goes beyond collecting data; students develop skills in scientific literacy and data analysis, and they deepen their understanding of the atmosphere and pollutants that can make air harmful to breathe.
Students are also making their voices heard. Malta’s students present their research at scientific events and student conferences, while also initiating tree planting, active travel (bicycle) days, anti-idling signage, and discussions with local councils and ministries. In the Netherlands, students share their findings with local government officials and advise policymakers on ways to improve air quality, supported by collaboration with more than 40 municipalities and provinces and national scientific organisations. In Ireland, students share their data with the Environmental Protection Agency. They organize anti-idling campaigns, display air pollution awareness posters, and communicate their results through online conferences. Together, these activities demonstrate how GLOBE connects scientific observations, including weather data, with student-led investigation, science communication, and practical action to support cleaner air and healthier communities.
The collaboration group encourage coordinators to facilitate their own campaigns. View Air Quality Campaign resources.
Learn more about GLOBE Malta.
Story and images courtesy of the Europe Eurasia Collaboration Group on Air Quality