Multitemporal Analysis of the Influence of PM10 on Human Mortality According to Urban Land Cover

Abstract

High urbanization and a consequent change in land cover can lead to a deterioration in air quality and generate impacts on public health. The objective of this paper is to provide a multitemporal analysis of the influence of particulate matter ≤ 10 μm (PM10) on human mortality from the land cover variation in a Latin American megacity. Six monitoring stations (monitoring daily PM10 concentration, increases in daily mortality (IDM), and land cover) were established throughout the megacity. The results suggest that for every 10% increase in vegetation cover, the daily PM10 concentration and IDM decreases by 7.5 μg/m3 and 0.34%, respectively. Moreover, it is evident that the monitoring station with the lowest vegetation cover (8.96 times) shows an increase of 1.56 times and 4.8 times in the daily PM10 concentration and IDM, respectively, compared with the monitoring station with the highest vegetation cover (46.7%). It is also suggested that for each increase of 100 inhabitants/hectare in population density, the daily PM10 concentration and IDM increases by 9.99 µg/m3 and 0.45%, respectively. Finally, the population densification of the megacity possibly implies a loss of vegetation cover and contributes to the increase in PM10 and IDM.