## 1 Introduction  
Air pollution occurs when substances that may have a negative environmental impact are introduced into the atmosphere. They originate from anthropogenic sources associated with organised forms of human activity (e.g., transport, residential heating, and industrial plants) or natural sources resulting from natural processes (e.g., volcanic eruptions, forest fires, and sandstorms). These can be substances that do not naturally occur in the atmosphere as well as those occurring in the environment in quantities that clearly exceed the geochemical background [1, 2, 3]. According to the European Environment Agency (2021), the biggest problem for the quality of the air today is pollution with particulate matter (PM\({}_{10}\) and PM\({}_{2.5}\)), tropospheric ozone (O\({}_{3}\)), and nitrogen dioxide (NO\({}_{2}\)). It is estimated that in 2019, nearly 400,000 people in the European Union, including about 43,000 in Poland, died prematurely due to air pollution [4]. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified outdoor air pollution in general, including particulate matter and diesel exhaust, as carcinogenic [5, 6]. This has been confirmed by the results of numerous studies [7, 8]. Elevated atmospheric concentrations of nitrogen oxides, reflecting pollution generated by fuel combustion, have been associated with an increased risk of certain cancers and higher mortality rates [9, 10, 11]. The exposure of pregnant mothers to elevated concentrations of nitrogen oxides results in a higher risk of cancer in their children in early childhood [12]. The human body's response to air pollution can vary [13]:  
* acute, caused by a single introduction of a large dose of a substance into the body,
* chronic, caused by the prolonged introduction of small doses of a substance into the body,
* latent, when the effects of introducing certain doses of a toxic substance into the body can emerge only after a long period of time. A review study by [PERSON] and [PERSON] [14] indicates that air pollution in Poland increases the total number of deaths and deaths related to respiratory diseases, as well as the incidence of respiratory diseases, including asthma, lung cancer, and COVID-19-related infections. The authors point out that, according to the World Bank, 36 of the world's 50 most polluted cities are located in Poland [15]. The negative health effects of air pollution, as outlined above, indicate the importance of their accurate spatial detection. Direct measurements can be carried out at a limited number of sites. One of the tools that can be an important source of information in this regard are satellite data, particularly those collected via the Sentinel-5P satellite with the TROPOMI multispectral imaging spectrometer. This allows the transition from the point data to the area data. This is important in the context of recreational areas, within which the network of measurement stations is limited. Although satellite observations of air pollution have been carried out since 1978, starting with the study of the so-called ozone layer and aerosols, these missions were not dedicated to such applications [16]. The Sentinel-5P satellite is markedly different from other satellites and has been dubbed a forerunner in air pollution research thanks to the new technological solutions which allow many applications [17; 18; 19]. For a detection of: (a) the impact of anthropogenic emissions on industrial plants, power plants, heating plants, district heating systems, transport, and mines [20]; (b) volcanic gases [21]; and (c) fires [22]. The data on air quality in Poland originate mostly from measurements carried out at the State Environmental Monitoring stations, which measure the content of sulphur dioxide (SO\({}_{2}\)), carbon monoxide (CO), benzene (C\({}_{6}\)H\({}_{6}\)), ozone (O\({}_{3}\)), nitrogen dioxide (NO\({}_{2}\)), particulate matter PM\({}_{10}\), and PM\({}_{2.5}\)[23] ([[http://powietrze.gios.gov.pl](http://powietrze.gios.gov.pl)]([http://powietrze.gios.gov.pl](http://powietrze.gios.gov.pl))).