Addressing Air Pollution Research Articles

Convolutional neural network-based deep learning model for air quality prediction in October city of Egypt

Purpose Modern human society has continuous advancements that have a negative impact on the quality of the air. Daily transportation, industrial and residential operations churn up dangerous contaminants in our surroundings. Addressing air pollution issues is critical for human health and ecosystems, particularly in developing countries such as Egypt. Excessive levels of pollutants have been linked to a variety of circulatory, respiratory and nervous illnesses. To this end, the purpose of this research paper is to forecast air pollution concentrations in Egypt based on time series analysis. Design/methodology/approach Deep learning models are leveraged to analyze air quality time series in the 6th of October City, Egypt. In this regard, convolutional neural network (CNN), long short-term memory network and multilayer perceptron neural network models are used to forecast the overall concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter 10 µm in diameter (PM10). The models are trained and validated by using monthly data available from the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency between December 2014 and July 2020. The performance measures such as determination coefficient, root mean square error and mean absolute error are used to evaluate the outcomes of models. Findings The CNN model exhibits the best performance in terms of forecasting pollutant concentrations 3, 6, 9 and 12 months ahead. Finally, using data from December 2014 to July 2021, the CNN model is used to anticipate the pollutant concentrations 12 months ahead. In July 2022, the overall concentrations of SO2 and PM10 are expected to reach 10 and 127 µg/m3, respectively. The developed model could aid decision-makers, practitioners and local authorities in planning and implementing various interventions to mitigate their negative influences on the population and environment. Originality/value This research introduces the development of an efficient time-series model that can project the future concentrations of particulate and gaseous air pollutants in Egypt. This research study offers the first time application of deep learning models to forecast the air quality in Egypt. This research study examines the performance of machine learning approaches and deep learning techniques to forecast sulfur dioxide and particular matter concentrations using standard performance metrics.

The effects of socioeconomic factors on particulate matter concentration in China's: New evidence from spatial econometric model

As a result of rapid industrialization and urbanization, China is now facing a host of environmental problems that have serious health implications. Studies of air pollution's impact on human health are vital in many fields, including epidemiology, environmental science, and the social sciences. To ensure the effective growth of socioeconomic sectors, it is critical to investigate the effect of socioeconomic factors on primary air pollutant particulate matter (PM2.5) and the driving mechanism. We conducted group-wise (i.,e. divide data in 5 different periods, D1 (2002–2006), D2 (2007–2011), D3 (2012–2016), D4 (2017–2021) and D5(2002–2021) spatial autocorrelation and spatial panel regression analyses of PM2.5 emissions using panel data from 34 provincial-level administrative units in China from 2002 to 2021 to understand the factors influencing air pollutant emissions. This study adds to the literature by considering comprehensive features and spatial effects in the panel-data econometric framework of the different areas. The spatial features analysis reveals that pollutant emissions in these regions decreased during the study period, although socioeconomic and natural factors are essential sources of PM2.5. PM2.5 emissions also showed significant positive spatial autocorrelations. Several statistical tests were run to examine the spatial autocorrelation among the regions. The results of a random effect regression model and geometric weighted regression (GWR) revealed that both socioeconomic and natural factors were statistically significant for PM2.5, though to varying degrees depending on region type. Positive and statistically significant results were obtained for China when considering the impacts of urban population, urban green space, economic growth, and economic spending. China has a positive and significant link with the exploitation of energy and natural resources. In light of these findings, we have developed several ideas for addressing air pollution and improving environmental sustainability, such as increasing regional collaboration and reforming the economy.

Prediction of ozone pollution impacted by vegetation planning in the Pearl River Delta, China

Controlling severe ozone (O3) pollution has become an urgent issue for addressing air pollution control in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region of China. Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) are the main precursors of O3 formation. Changes in vegetation type because of anthropogenic disturbances alter BVOCs emissions in the PRD. In this study, WRF-Chem4.1.2 coupled with MEGAN2.1 was applied to predict the impact of changes in BVOCs because of the replacement of vegetation plans on O3 pollution in the PRD. This is based on changes in the distribution of vegetation types in a range of sensitive areas. The results have indicated that the scenario with the greatest disturbance to O3 concentrations is the replacement of the forest type in the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) sensitive area with the dryland cropland and pastureland use type. Here, the reduction in isoprene concentrations in the PRD River could reach 63% of the area. The reduction in O3 concentrations reached 48% of the area, with a maximum reduction of 8.8%. The effect of vegetation planning on O3 has a clear “spillover” phenomenon. Variations in O3 concentrations greater than 1% were predominantly distributed outside the range of land use type changes, accounting for 80%–91% of the change. There was a linear fit for meteorological conditions and the amount of variation in precursor concentrations with O3 concentrations in the “spillover” region. BVOCs were found to have a greater effect on the variation in O3 concentrations.

Spatial and sector-specific contributions of emissions to ambient air pollution and mortality in European cities: a health impact assessment

Ambient air pollution is a major risk to health and wellbeing in European cities. We aimed to estimate spatial and sector-specific contributions of emissions to ambient air pollution and evaluate the effects of source-specific reductions in pollutants on mortality in European cities to support targeted source-specific actions to address air pollution and promote population health. We conducted a health impact assessment of data from 2015 for 857 European cities to estimate source contributions to annual PM2·5 and NO2 concentrations using the Screening for High Emission Reduction Potentials for Air quality tool. We evaluated contributions from transport, industry, energy, residential, agriculture, shipping, and aviation, other, natural, and external sources. For each city and sector, three spatial levels were considered: contributions from the same city, the rest of the country, and transboundary. Mortality effects were estimated for adult populations (ie, ≥20 years) following standard comparative risk assessment methods to calculate the annual mortality preventable on spatial and sector-specific reductions in PM2·5 and NO2. We observed strong variability in spatial and sectoral contributions among European cities. For PM2·5, the main contributors to mortality were the residential (mean contribution of 22·7% [SD 10·2]) and agricultural (18·0% [7·7]) sectors, followed by industry (13·8% [6·0]), transport (13·5% [5·8]), energy (10·0% [6·4]), and shipping (5·5% [5·7]). For NO2, the main contributor to mortality was transport (48·5% [SD 15·2]), with additional contributions from industry (15·0% [10·8]), energy (14·7% [12·9]), residential (10·3% [5·0]), and shipping (9·7% [12·7]). The mean city contribution to its own air pollution mortality was 13·5% (SD 9·9) for PM2·5 and 34·4% (19·6) for NO2, and contribution increased among cities of largest area (22·3% [12·2] for PM2·5 and 52·2% [19·4] for NO2) and among European capitals (29·9% [12·5] for PM2·5 and 62·7% [14·7] for NO2). We estimated source-specific air pollution health effects at the city level. Our results show strong variability, emphasising the need for local policies and coordinated actions that consider city-level specificities in source contributions. Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, State Research Agency, Generalitat de Catalunya, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en red Epidemiología y Salud Pública, and Urban Burden of Disease Estimation for Policy Making 2023-2026 Horizon Europe project.

Assessing the Impact of Public Behavior and Industrial Emissions on Ambient Air Quality in Pakistan

Air pollution is a growing environmental concern worldwide, and Pakistan is no exception. The study investigates the impact of industrial emissions, as well as public behavior, on air pollution in Pakistan. For this purpose, a questionnaire-based survey was conducted among a sample size of 100 participants, including students, professors, and government employees. The goal was to assess their attitudes, practices, and understanding regarding air pollution, as well as their perception and contribution to the relevant issues and their role concerning industries and vehicles. The findings revealed significant insights into the prevailing situation. The respondents recognized the contributions of industrial emissions to pollution levels. However, a substantial portion of the participants exhibited limited knowledge regarding specific pollutants and their sources. These responses clarified certain facets regarding public behavior, including transportation choices, waste management practices, and energy-efficient technologies. It was evident that sustainable modes of transportation, such as cycling or public transportation, were underutilized, with personal vehicles being the primary choice. Furthermore, significant challenges were identified as a lack of proper waste management practices and the low adoption of energy-efficient technologies. Based on these findings, it is crucial to implement targeted interventions and raise awareness to address air pollution in Pakistan effectively. The study highlighted that there is adire need for increased education and public outreach initiatives to improve knowledge regarding air pollutants and their sources. Policies that support environmentally friendly transportation choices and encourage industry adoption of cleaner technologies should also be developed.

Burden of fine air pollution on mortality in the desert climate of Kuwait

BackgroundMiddle Eastern desert countries like Kuwait are known for intense dust storms and enormous petrochemical industries affecting ambient air pollution. However, local health authorities have not been able to assess the health impacts of air pollution due to limited monitoring networks and a lack of historical exposure data.ObjectiveTo assess the burden of PM2.5 on mortality in the understudied dusty environment of Kuwait.MethodsWe analyzed the acute impact of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on daily mortality in Kuwait between 2001 and 2016. To do so, we used spatiotemporally resolved estimates of PM2.5 in the region. Our analysis explored factors such as cause of death, sex, age, and nationality. We fitted quasi-Poisson time-series regression for lagged PM2.5 adjusted for time trend, seasonality, day of the week, temperature, and relative humidity.ResultsThere was a total of 70,321 deaths during the study period of 16 years. The average urban PM2.5 was estimated to be 46.2 ± 19.8 µg/m3. A 10 µg/m3 increase in a 3-day moving average of urban PM2.5 was associated with 1.19% (95% CI: 0.59, 1.80%) increase in all-cause mortality. For a 10 µg/m3 reduction in annual PM2.5 concentrations, a total of 52.3 (95% CI: 25.7, 79.1) deaths each year could be averted in Kuwait. That is, 28.6 (95% CI: 10.3, 47.0) Kuwaitis, 23.9 (95% CI: 6.4, 41.5) non-Kuwaitis, 9.4 (95% CI: 1.2, 17.8) children, and 20.9 (95% CI: 4.3, 37.6) elderly deaths each year.Impact StatementThe overwhelming prevalence of devastating dust storms and enormous petrochemical industries in the Gulf and the Middle East has intensified the urgency to address air pollution and its detrimental health effects. Alarmingly, the region’s epidemiological research lags behind, hindered by a paucity of ground monitoring networks and historical exposure data. In response, we are harnessing the power of big data to generate predictive models of air pollution across time and space, providing crucial insights into the mortality burden associated with air pollution in this under-researched yet critically impacted area.

An assessment of China's joint prevention and control policy on sulfur dioxide emissions reduction: A spatial econometric analysis

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a typical pollutant that affects human health, climate, and environmental and ecological conditions. China has been experiencing high concentrations of SO2, particularly in urban areas, since the 1990s. In 2010, a “joint prevention and control” (JPC) policy was issued to address air pollution problems and strengthen the regulation of SO2 emissions. This study aimed to describe the mitigation effects of this policy on SO2 emissions in 116 Chinese cities from 2003 to 2017. We applied global and local Moran's I indices to confirm the presence of significant spatial autocorrelation in SO2 emissions and constructed four spatial models to assess the effect of the JPC policy in reducing SO2 emissions and its transmission mechanism. We found that the policy decreased SO2 emissions by 1.89 × 104 tons, SO2 intensity by 1.70 tons per km2, and SO2 per capita of 158.49 tons per 10,000 people in each city, on average, all of which are significant changes. The empirical results also show that population growth, economic structure, and environmental protection significantly decrease SO2 emissions. Finally, we recommended policies to encourage regional cooperation under the JPC policy, with the aim of promoting further reductions in SO2 emissions.

Assessment of Regional Differences in the Implementation of the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan in China.

Air pollution is still an important risk factor that endangers the health of Chinese people, leading the government to implement a series of policies to address air pollution. This study takes the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan (APPCAP) proposed in 2013 as the object and uses the combined data set of China's 2000-2019 economic panel data and PM2.5 remote sensing data to analyse the implementation effect of the policy by the multiperiod difference-in-differences method, considering regional heterogeneity. The results show that the implementation of the APPCAP significantly reduced the PM2.5 concentration in China, and the effect was stronger in the Yangtze River Delta region. Future governance policies should further consider local characteristics and determine pollution control goals and measures according to local conditions.

Assessing the Rheological, Mechanical, and Photocatalytic Properties of Niobium Oxide-Incorporated White Cement Pastes.

Niobium oxide (Nb2O5) is a semiconductor that exhibits photocatalytic properties, making it potentially valuable in addressing air pollution, self-cleaning, and self-disinfection in cement-based materials (CBMs). Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of different Nb2O5 concentrations on various parameters, including rheological characteristics, hydration kinetics (measured using isothermal calorimetry), compressive strength, and photocatalytic activity, specifically in the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) in white Portland cement pastes. The incorporation of Nb2O5 increased the yield stress and viscosity of the pastes by up to 88.9% and 33.5%, respectively, primarily due to the larger specific surface area (SSA) provided by Nb2O5. However, this addition did not significantly affect the hydration kinetics or the compressive strength of the cement pastes after 3 and 28 days. Tests focusing on the degradation of RhB in the cement pastes revealed that the inclusion of 2.0 wt.% of Nb2O5 was insufficient to degrade the dye when exposed to 393 nm UV light. However, an interesting observation was made concerning RhB in the presence of CBMs, as it demonstrated a degradation mechanism that was not dependent on light. This phenomenon was attributed to the production of superoxide anion radicals resulting from the interaction between the alkaline medium and hydrogen peroxide.

Reducing air pollution through smart energy management in industrial clusters of India

AbstractSmart energy management, along with clean technologies and advanced pollution control measures has proven to be an effective strategy for reducing air pollution in both developed and transitioning economies and holds significant potential to reduce emissions from industries and power plants—two of the major sources of air pollution in many of India's urban areas.This manuscript presents the results from a project and provides a critical proof of concept to show that developing country cities can achieve significant, measurable reductions in air pollution, Volatile Organic Compound emissions and greenhouse gas emissions through investing in smart energy management and advance control technologies. Achieving this goal, however, requires addressing two key challenges: (1) lack of a demonstrated link between smart energy management and air quality improvements in India; and (2) the need to scale up development, financing, and implementation of smart energy solutions, including energy efficiency and clean technology measures that can help address air pollution in industrialized urban areas, critically polluted areas by offsetting fossil fuel use for diesel‐ and coal‐fired electricity generation.

Air pollution in Iran: The current status and potential solutions

Air pollution has been integrated into global challenges over the last few years due to its negative impact on the health of human beings, increasing socio-economic risks, and its contribution to climate change. This study attempts to evaluate the current status of Iran’s air pollution with regard to the sources of emissions, control policies, and the health and climate consequences that have resulted through available data from monitoring stations reported in the literature, official documents, and previously published papers. Many large cities in Iran surpass the permissible concentration of air pollutants, particularly particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, black carbon, and ozone. Although regulations and policies are in place and enormous efforts are being made to address air pollution issues in the country, implementation and enforcement are not as effective as they could be. The significant challenges may be regarded as the inefficiency of regulation and supervision systems, the lack of air quality monitoring systems and technology, particularly in industrial cities rather than Tehran, and the lack of continual feedback and investigations on the efficiency of regulation. Providing such an up-to-date report can bring opportunities for international collaboration, which is essential in addressing air pollution worldwide. We suggest that a way forward could be more focused on conducting systematic reviews using scientometric methods to show an accurate picture and trend in air pollution and its association in Iran, implementing an integrated approach for both climate change and air pollution issues, collaborating with international counterparts to share knowledge, tools, and techniques.

A bibliometric analysis of the impact of COVID-19 social lockdowns on air quality: research trends and future directions.

Social lockdowns improved air quality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Governments had previously spent a lot of money addressing air pollution without success. This bibliometric study measured the influence of COVID-19 social lockdowns on air pollution, identified emerging issues, and discussed future perspectives. The researchers examined the contributions of countries, authors, and most productive journals to COVID-19 and air pollution research from January 1, 2020, to September 12, 2022, from the Web of Sciences Core Collection (WoS). The results showed that (a) publications on the COVID-19 pandemic and air pollution were 504 (research articles) with 7495 citations, (b) China ranked first in the number of publications (n = 151; 29.96% of the global output) and was the main country in international cooperation network, followed by India (n = 101; 20.04% of the total articles) and the USA (n = 41; 8.13% of the global output). Air pollution plagues China, India, and the USA, calling for many studies. After a high spike in 2020, research published in 2021 declined in 2022. The author's keywords have focused on "COVID-19," "air pollution," "lockdown," and "PM25." These keywords suggest that research in this area is focused on understanding the health impacts of air pollution, developing policies to address air pollution, and improving air quality monitoring. The COVID-19 social lockdown served as a specified procedure to reduce air pollution in these countries. However, this paper provides practical recommendations for future research and a model for environmental and health scientists to examine the likely impact of COVID-19 social lockdowns on urban air pollution.

How does functional division within urban agglomeration affect CO2 emissions? An empirical study.

With intensified urbanization, cities are becoming increasingly important units for addressing air pollution issues. From the perspective of urban agglomeration (UA), in this paper, the influence of functional division on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is studied. To explore the spillover effect within UA, a spatial Durbin model is built. The mediating effects of economic growth, industrial structure, and technological progress are examined using the parallel multiple mediation model. An empirical study is carried out on the Yangtze River Delta in China. The results suggest that: at the UA level, functional division and CO2 emissions follows a positive "U-shaped" curve relationship. The level of functional division is located on the left side of this curve. This implies that when the functional division of the Yangtze River Delta improves, current CO2 emission levels will decrease. Within the UA, improving the level of functional division will minimize CO2 emissions of adjacent cities, exerting a significant spillover effect. Functional division imposes a significantly negative influence on CO2 emissions. Moreover, economic growth, industrial structure, and technological progress all exert a significant mediating effect on the influencing mechanism. Functional division within the UA can also significantly reduce CO2 by optimizing these three paths.

Operation-Time Prolonging Method for IoTBased Outdoor Environment Monitoring System

It is important to analyze and comprehend outdoor environmental conditions to address air pollution problems. Accordingly, while remote sensing is suitable for analyzing global environment data, the Internet of Things (IoT) technique can help us analyze and comprehend local environment data. Moreover, considering how IoT-based outdoor environmental monitoring can operate for long periods in environments is necessary during difficulties in securing a power supply. Therefore, this study proposes an operation time-prolonging method for an IoT-based outdoor environment monitoring system by combining solar power, storage devices, and intermittent operation for stable operations in outdoor environments. With our proposed method, while solar panels provides power during the day, storage batteries provides power after sunset, with the sensor devices operating intermittently during this period. Furthermore, because the energy supplied depends on daylight hours, the proposed system has a sleep period that considers daylight hours when prolonging the system’s operation time. Consequently, the operation time of the sensor node during the adaptive sleep period control becomes 6.0 times longer than that without sleep period control, showing the effectiveness of the developed system. Hence, our results establish the effectiveness of the proposed adaptive sleep period control for prolonging the operation time of IoT network-based systems, indicating this finding’s usefulness for future research approaches.

Lung adenocarcinoma promotion by air pollutants.

A complete understanding of how exposure to environmental substances promotes cancer formation is lacking. More than 70 years ago, tumorigenesis was proposed to occur in a two-step process: an initiating step that induces mutations in healthy cells, followed by a promoter step that triggers cancer development1. Here we propose that environmental particulate matter measuring ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5), known to be associated with lung cancer risk, promotes lung cancer by acting on cells that harbour pre-existing oncogenic mutations in healthy lung tissue. Focusing on EGFR-driven lung cancer, which is more common in never-smokers or light smokers, we found a significant association between PM2.5 levels and the incidence of lung cancer for 32,957 EGFR-driven lung cancer cases in four within-country cohorts. Functional mouse models revealed that air pollutants cause an influx of macrophages into the lung and release of interleukin-1β. This process results in a progenitor-like cell state within EGFR mutant lung alveolar type II epithelial cells that fuels tumorigenesis. Ultradeep mutational profiling of histologically normal lung tissue from 295 individuals across 3 clinical cohorts revealed oncogenic EGFR and KRAS driver mutations in 18% and 53% of healthy tissue samples, respectively. These findings collectively support a tumour-promoting role for PM2.5 air pollutants and provide impetus for public health policy initiatives to address air pollution to reduce disease burden.

Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter and cardiovascular disease: The mitigation role of environmental concerns

Although it is widely acknowledged that environmental concerns can reduce PM2.5 pollution, few studies have empirically estimated whether environmental concerns could bring health benefits by mitigating PM2.5 pollution. Here, we quantified government and media environmental concerns with text-mining algorithm, matched with cohort data along with high-resolution gridded PM2.5 data. Accelerated failure time model and mediation model were used to explore the association between PM2.5 exposure and onset time to cardiovascular events, and the mitigation effect of environmental concerns. Every 1 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 exposure was associated with shortened time to stroke and heart problem, with time ratios of 0.9900 and 0.9986, respectively. Each 1 unit increase in government and media environmental concerns, as well as their synergistic effect decreased PM2.5 pollution by 0.32 %, 0.25 % and 0.46 %, respectively; and decrease PM2.5 resulted in prolonged onset time to cardiovascular events. Mediation analysis revealed that reduced PM2.5 mediated up to 33.55 % of the association between environmental concerns and onset time to cardiovascular events, suggesting that other mediation pathways were also possible. Associations of PM2.5 exposure and environmental concerns with stroke and heart problem were similar in different subgroups. Overall, environmental concerns reduce risks of cardiovascular disease by mitigating PM2.5 pollution and other pathways in a real-world data set. This study provides insights for low-and-middle-income countries to address air pollution and improve health co-benefit.

Air Pollution Impact on Human Health and its Management: A Review

Air Pollution Impact on Human Health and its Management: A Review

Can ESG investments and new environmental law improve social happiness in China?

Air pollution was a serious issue in China in the early 2010s, threatening public health and sustainable economic development. The Chinese government established a new environmental protection law in 2015 in order to address air pollution and other environmental issues. This paper investigates the impact of the new environmental law and ESG investments on air pollution and social happiness. We discovered that the implementation of the new environmental law and ESG investments significantly improved social happiness by reducing air pollution. One unit increase in ESG investments would result in a 0.334 unit decrease in air pollution and 0.225 unit increase in social happiness.

Rubber Tiles Made from Secondary Raw Materials with Immobilized Titanium Dioxide as Passive Air Protection

The immobilization of titanium dioxide, particularly commercial TiO2 P25, on the surface of recycled rubber tiles presents a solution for achieving passive air protection. A completely new purpose for tiles was obtained by addressing air pollution and related health issues. Modified rubber tiles were prepared using a sol–gel method with three different proportions of TiO2 (2, 4, and 10 g) in the solution. The nature of TiO2 nanoparticles and their respective binding on the tile surface was determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with electron dispersion X-ray spectrometry (EDS) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The SEM-EDS results showed that the most successful immobilization was achieved with the lowest amount of TiO2 in the sol–gel solution. The FTIR results confirmed a band at 950 cm−1 that was attributed to the Ti-O-Si bond. The stability and environmental impact of the treated rubber substrates were investigated by a leaching test. Photocatalytic oxidation was confirmed by the oxidation of NH3 to N2. Based on the results obtained, rubber substrates with an addition of 2 g of TiO2 have demonstrated prospects for further tests of the photocatalytic degradation of airborne pollutants.

Policy Recommendations for International Regulations Addressing Air Pollution From Ships

Policy Recommendations for International Regulations Addressing Air Pollution From Ships