Fair comparison between satellite- and modeled urban NO₂ column densities is important in emission inventory evaluation and regulation policy making. This study focuses on the impact of satellite footprint resolution geometry. Since OMI NO₂ pixels are too coarse to resolve fine-scale urban plumes, it may cause 20–30 % bias over major cities. We introduce approaches to adjust spatial and vertical structure (downscaling & averaging kernel), and demonstrate improved agreement between sat. and model.