Multisource Data Fusion to Understand the Impact of Air Pollution and Climate Change on Asthma Prevalence over Dhaka City for Informed Policy Development

Abstract

Dhaka city has experienced heat waves and extreme weather events in recent years, leading to elevated levels of air pollution primarily attributed to vehicle emissions, industrial activities, and domestic burning. The World Health Organization has dubbed air pollution as the "silent killer," contributing to a global threat with 262.41 million asthma cases worldwide. Study has confirmed a strong correlation between asthma and both outdoor and indoor air pollutants. Despite the unknown impact of macro-environmental factors on asthma burden in Bangladesh, this study sheds light on the connection between indoor and outdoor air pollution, climate change, and respiratory health in Dhaka. It quantifies their influence on hospital admissions, highlighting the need for proactive measures to address these challenges. The research aims to investigate the influence of air pollution and climate change on asthma hospital admissions in Dhaka City over the past five years. This involves integrating ground measurements, satellite data (Sentinel 5p & CAMS), and community-level asthma patient data. The study unveils a significant relationship between climate change, air pollution, and asthma-related health issues in Bangladesh. Utilizing a Generalized Additive Modelling (GAM), the analysis of climate and air quality data from urban locations and various hospitals in Dhaka reveals a substantial association. The study explores the correlation between asthma-related hospital admissions and air quality parameters (NO2, CO, SO2, PM2.5, PM10, O3) as linear variables, with temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed as covariates. The findings from the Generalized Additive Modeling using ground data indicate that increased levels of PM2.5, SO2, PM10, O3, CO, and NO2 in Dhaka City are linked to progressively heightened risks of asthma hospital admissions. Immediate spikes in PM2.5, SO2, CO, and NO2 result in a higher relative risk of asthma prevalence, leading to an increased number of hospital admissions. In contrast, PM10 shows an immediate but minimal increase in risk, and O3 exhibits a time-delayed effect. The study integrates satellite data to provide a comprehensive view of pollution levels and utilizes community-level asthma patient data for informed policy development. Additionally, it identifies indoor pollution as a significant factor, given that urban families spend 80-90% of their time indoors, emphasizing its impact on asthma prevalence. The study also determines emission regions through reverse modeling.