Air pollution is a significant crisis globally, including in Afghanistan's major cities, driven by industrialization, population growth, and increased urban traffic. Nitrogen dioxide \(({NO}_{2})\) is one of the main air quality pollutants worldwide, that not only harms human health but also affects vegetation and contributes to global climate change. As a result, comprehensive monitoring of this pollutant is essential for informed decision-making to address these crises. The TROPOMI sensor on the Sentinel-5P satellite, provides images across a wide range of spectral bands making it a powerful tool for air pollution monitoring. Using the TROPOMI sensor and the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, this study investigates the monthly, seasonal, and yearly spatiotemporal changes of \({NO}_{2}\) over Afghanistan from 2019 to 2023. The TROPOMI product was also validated using a surface \({NO}_{2}\) data, which showed a significant connection ranging from (R = 0.66 to 0.99) throughout the four seasons. According to the spatial study, \({NO}_{2}\) is mainly concentrated in large cities like Kabul, Nangarhar, Balkh, Herat, and Kandahar and is widely dispersed over the northern, eastern, southern, and western regions of Afghanistan. The most polluted seasons are spring and summer, with the greatest \({NO}_{2}\) levels found in May, June, and July. Temporal trend analysis shows that while there were minor increases in Herat and Balkh, \({NO}_{2}\) levels showed a downward trend in Kabul, Nangarhar, and Kandahar. Policymakers and government officials will benefit from the study's findings in developing focused plans to effectively address air pollution and reduce \({NO}_{2}\) emissions.
