Experts and end users discuss best practices and obstacles for deploying PM2.5 sensors in scientific, community, and educational settings

This document reflects the combined perspectives of scientists in the low-cost sensor (LCS) field and Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) community organizers and educators for a holistic approach to measuring PM2.5 across disciplines and applications. These perspectives were shared during the virtual NASA GLOBE PM2.5 Low-Cost Sensor Workshop, May 7–9, 2025, through a series of short presentations and topical breakout room conversations. Presentations outlined successful advances in calibration, long-term deployments, satellite and remote sensing applications, and educational tools for communicating data from LCS. Subsequent discussion sections allowed educators, community members, and scientists to engage in meaningful dialogue about their successes and struggles in using LCS and their data. The needs of different end users are thoroughly explored to present best practices for several key applications and to present a set of recommendations to better bridge the gap between scientists and community partners to extract more useful data from the thousands of low-cost PM2.5 sensors deployed globally.