SEASONAL AND SPATIAL VARIATION OF PM10 IN AN URBAN AREA FROM ROMANIA

The cyclic variance of PM10 mass concentration in the urban area in the South-East of Romania has been analysed in the article. SE of Romania is considered to be a territory which has medium level of pollution for a period of last ten years, from 2009 to 2018. The spatial dispersion of PM10 concentration was obtained using the METI-LIS soft wear for each season. The objective of dispersion models is to evaluate how pollutant concentration is spread out taking into account the diffusion. The average measurements of PM10 and meteorological parameters as inputs has been used. An evident seasonal change of PM10 concentrations is observed in the article. In order to establish national measures for the improvement of the atmospheric pollution control it was analysed the mechanism of atmospheric pollution. It was observed that the air quality was overall better in spring and in summer in comparison to the other two periods. With regard to the seasonal variation characteristics of PM10 significant differences for the air quality registered in different months in the researched region were observed. The impact of air temperature on atmospheric pollution was insignificant in spring and autumn; moreover, precipitation was defined as an important influence factor upon the atmospheric pollution. The impact of precipitation on the possibility of atmospheric pollution was obviously different in the four seasons. The research results indicate the meteorological parameters that influence the air pollution become active during the cold seasonal days. It was shown that relative humidity and wind speed are the meteorological parameters that impact the PM10. It was found out that the probability of atmospheric pollution decreased with the increase of air temperature in summer. The research results also testify that the air pollution mapping could be enhanced using atmospheric dispersion models and in-situ measurements.

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Impact on Air Quality of the COVID-19 Lockdown in the Urban Area of Palermo (Italy)

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17207375 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (20) ◽

pp. 7375 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Marcello Vultaggio ◽

Daniela Varrica ◽

Maria Grazia Alaimo

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Air Quality ◽

Urban Area ◽

Human Mobility ◽

Infected People ◽

National Crisis ◽

Global Pandemic ◽

Pm 10 ◽

The Impact

At the end of 2019, the first cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were reported in Wuhan, China. Thereafter, the number of infected people increased rapidly, and the outbreak turned into a national crisis, with infected individuals all over the country. The COVID-19 global pandemic produced extreme changes in human behavior that affected air quality. Human mobility and production activities decreased significantly, and many regions recorded significant reductions in air pollution. The goal of our investigation was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the concentrations of the main air pollutants in the urban area of Palermo (Italy). In this study, the trends in the average concentrations of CO, NO2, O3, and PM10 in the air from 1 January 2020 to 31 July 2020 were compared with the corresponding average values detected at the same monitoring stations in Palermo during the previous five years (2015–2019). During the lockdown period (10 March–30 April), we observed a decrease in the concentrations of CO, NO2, and particulate matter (PM)10, calculated to be about 51%, 50%, and 45%, respectively. This confirms that air pollution in an urban area is predominantly linked to vehicular traffic.

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Investigating the impacts of air quality and weather indicators on the spread of SARS-COV-2 in Istanbul, Turkey

Thermal Science ◽

10.2298/tsci201126071t ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 71-71

Author(s):

Caner Taniş ◽

Kadir Karakaya

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Air Quality ◽

Meteorological Parameters ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Pearson Correlation ◽

Quality Data ◽

Hospital Discharges ◽

Weather Parameters ◽

The Impact ◽

Quality Indexes

Background/aim: Air pollution is having a positive impact on the spread of the SARS-COV-2 virus. The effects of meteorological parameters on the spread of SARS-COV-2 are a matter of curiosity. The main purpose of this paper is to determine the association between air quality indexes (PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, CO, and O3) and weather parameters (temperature, humidity, pressure, dew, wind speed) with the number of SARS-COV-2 cases, hospitalizations, hospital discharges. In this paper, we also focused on determining the impact of air pollution and weather parameters on the number of daily hospitalizations and daily discharges. Materials and methods: It is gleaned daily cases, hospitalizations, hospital discharges, meteorological, and air quality data in Istanbul from Turkey between July 15, 2020, and September 30, 2020. We performed the Pearson correlation analysis to evaluate the effects of meteorological parameters and air quality indexes on the variables related to SARS-COV-2. Results: It is determined a statistically significant positive relationship between air quality indexes such as CO, SO2, PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and the number of daily confirmed SARS-COV-2 cases. We also observed a negative association between weather parameters such as temperature and pressure and the number of daily confirmed SARS-COV-2 cases. Conclusion: Our study proposes that high air quality could reduce the number of SARS-COV-2 cases. The empirical findings of this paper might provide key input to prevent the spread of SARS-COV-2 across Turkey.

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Influence of Meteorological Parameters on Air Quality at Hashemite University, Jordan

Current World Environment ◽

10.12944/cwe.12.2.04 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 211-221

Author(s):

Sana’a Odata ◽

Abu- Allabanb ◽

Khitam Odibatb

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Air Quality ◽

Wind Speed ◽

Relative Humidity ◽

Air Temperature ◽

Negative Correlation ◽

Air Pollutants ◽

Meteorological Parameters ◽

Positive Correlation ◽

Hashemite University

Four threshold air pollutants (SO2, NO, NO2, and O3) in addition to meteorological parameters were monitored at the Campus of the Hashemite University (HU) for two years (1/1/2012 through 30/12/013). Correlations between air pollution and meteorological parameters were derived. The results showed that O3 has a positive correlation with air temperature, wind speed and wind direction, but has a negative correlation with the relative humidity (RH). SO2 was found to have a negative correlation with the RH and wind speed, but positive correlation with air temperature. NO has negative correlation with air temperature, RH, and wind speed. And finally, NO2 has a negative correlation with RH and wind speed, but it has positive correlation with air temperature. Justify the reasons in brief with recommendations to improve the air quality

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THE IMPACT OF METEOROLOGICAL PARAMETERS ON SULPHURIC AIR POLLUTION IN KOHTLA-JÄRVE

Oil Shale ◽

10.3176/oil.2011.2.07 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 28 (2) ◽

pp. 337

Author(s):

J PAVLENKOVA ◽

M KAASIK ◽

E-S KERNER ◽

A LOOT ◽

R OTS

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Meteorological Parameters ◽

The Impact

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Functional ANOVA approaches for detecting changes in air pollution during the COVID-19 pandemic

Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment ◽

10.1007/s00477-021-02071-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Christian Acal ◽

Ana M. Aguilera ◽

Annalina Sarra ◽

Adelia Evangelista ◽

Tonio Di Battista ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Air Quality ◽

Functional Data ◽

Central Italy ◽

Principal Component ◽

Functional Principal Component Analysis ◽

Area Of Interest ◽

Pm 10 ◽

The Impact ◽

Monitoring Stations

AbstractFaced with novel coronavirus outbreak, the most hard-hit countries adopted a lockdown strategy to contrast the spread of virus. Many studies have already documented that the COVID-19 control actions have resulted in improved air quality locally and around the world. Following these lines of research, we focus on air quality changes in the urban territory of Chieti-Pescara (Central Italy), identified as an area of criticality in terms of air pollution. Concentrations of $$\hbox {NO}_{{2}}$$ NO 2 , $$\hbox {PM}_{{10}}$$ PM 10 , $$\hbox {PM}_{2.5}$$ PM 2.5 and benzene are used to evaluate air pollution changes in this Region. Data were measured by several monitoring stations over two specific periods: from 1st February to 10 th March 2020 (before lockdown period) and from 11st March 2020 to 18 th April 2020 (during lockdown period). The impact of lockdown on air quality is assessed through functional data analysis. Our work makes an important contribution to the analysis of variance for functional data (FANOVA). Specifically, a novel approach based on multivariate functional principal component analysis is introduced to tackle the multivariate FANOVA problem for independent measures, which is reduced to test multivariate homogeneity on the vectors of the most explicative principal components scores. Results of the present study suggest that the level of each pollutant changed during the confinement. Additionally, the differences in the mean functions of all pollutants according to the location and type of monitoring stations (background vs traffic), are ascribable to the $$\hbox {PM}_{{10}}$$ PM 10 and benzene concentrations for pre-lockdown and during-lockdown tenure, respectively. FANOVA has proven to be beneficial to monitoring the evolution of air quality in both periods of time. This can help environmental protection agencies in drawing a more holistic picture of air quality status in the area of interest.

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The interplay between environmental exposures and COVID-19 risks in the health of children

Environmental Health ◽

10.1186/s12940-021-00716-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Peter D. Sly ◽

Brittany A. Trottier ◽

Catherine M. Bulka ◽

Stephania A. Cormier ◽

Julius Fobil ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Air Quality ◽

Disease Severity ◽

Research Effort ◽

Severe Disease ◽

Environmental Exposures ◽

Research Strategy ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Research Questions ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background An unusual feature of SARS-Cov-2 infection and the COVID-19 pandemic is that children are less severely affected than adults. This is especially paradoxical given the epidemiological links between poor air quality and increased COVID-19 severity in adults and that children are generally more vulnerable than adults to the adverse consequences of air pollution. Objectives To identify gaps in knowledge about the factors that protect children from severe SARS-Cov-2 infection even in the face of air pollution, and to develop a transdisciplinary research strategy to address these gaps. Methods An international group of researchers interested in children’s environmental health was invited to identify knowledge gaps and to develop research questions to close these gaps. Discussion Key research questions identified include: what are the effects of SAR-Cov-2 infection during pregnancy on the developing fetus and child; what is the impact of age at infection and genetic susceptibility on disease severity; why do some children with COVID-19 infection develop toxic shock and Kawasaki-like symptoms; what are the impacts of toxic environmental exposures including poor air quality, chemical and metal exposures on innate immunity, especially in the respiratory epithelium; what is the possible role of a “dirty” environment in conveying protection – an example of the “hygiene hypothesis”; and what are the long term health effects of SARS-Cov-2 infection in early life. Conclusion A concerted research effort by a multidisciplinary team of scientists is needed to understand the links between environmental exposures, especially air pollution and COVID-19. We call for specific research funding to encourage basic and clinical research to understand if/why exposure to environmental factors is associated with more severe disease, why children appear to be protected, and how innate immune responses may be involved. Lessons learned about SARS-Cov-2 infection in our children will help us to understand and reduce disease severity in adults, the opposite of the usual scenario.

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Scalable kernel-based SVM classification algorithm on imbalance air quality data for proficient healthcare

Complex & Intelligent Systems ◽

10.1007/s40747-021-00435-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Shwet Ketu ◽

Pramod Kumar Mishra

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Air Quality ◽

Class Imbalance ◽

Imbalanced Data ◽

Classification Algorithm ◽

Quality Data ◽

Pollution Level ◽

Classification Problems ◽

Chi Square ◽

The Impact

AbstractIn the last decade, we have seen drastic changes in the air pollution level, which has become a critical environmental issue. It should be handled carefully towards making the solutions for proficient healthcare. Reducing the impact of air pollution on human health is possible only if the data is correctly classified. In numerous classification problems, we are facing the class imbalance issue. Learning from imbalanced data is always a challenging task for researchers, and from time to time, possible solutions have been developed by researchers. In this paper, we are focused on dealing with the imbalanced class distribution in a way that the classification algorithm will not compromise its performance. The proposed algorithm is based on the concept of the adjusting kernel scaling (AKS) method to deal with the multi-class imbalanced dataset. The kernel function's selection has been evaluated with the help of weighting criteria and the chi-square test. All the experimental evaluation has been performed on sensor-based Indian Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) dataset. The proposed algorithm with the highest accuracy of 99.66% wins the race among all the classification algorithms i.e. Adaboost (59.72%), Multi-Layer Perceptron (95.71%), GaussianNB (80.87%), and SVM (96.92). The results of the proposed algorithm are also better than the existing literature methods. It is also clear from these results that our proposed algorithm is efficient for dealing with class imbalance problems along with enhanced performance. Thus, accurate classification of air quality through our proposed algorithm will be useful for improving the existing preventive policies and will also help in enhancing the capabilities of effective emergency response in the worst pollution situation.

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Gender Differences in Association between Air Pollution and Daily Mortality in the Capital of the Green Lungs of Poland–Population-Based Study with 2,953,000 Person-Years of Follow-Up

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm9082351 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 2351

Author(s):

Łukasz Kuźma ◽

Krzysztof Struniawski ◽

Szymon Pogorzelski ◽

Hanna Bachórzewska-Gajewska ◽

Sławomir Dobrzycki

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Gender Differences ◽

Air Pollution ◽

Air Quality ◽

Air Pollutant ◽

World Health ◽

The European Union ◽

Daily Mortality ◽

Male Population ◽

The Impact

(1) Introduction: air pollution is considered to be one of the main risk factors for public health. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), air pollution contributes to the premature deaths of approximately 500,000 citizens of the European Union (EU), including almost 5000 inhabitants of Poland every year. (2) Purpose: to assess the gender differences in the impact of air pollution on the mortality in the population of the city of Bialystok—the capital of the Green Lungs of Poland. (3) Materials and Methods: based on the data from the Central Statistical Office, the number—and causes of death—of Białystok residents in the period 2008–2017 were analyzed. The study utilized the data recorded by the Provincial Inspectorate for Environmental Protection station and the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management during the analysis period. Time series regression with Poisson distribution was used in statistical analysis. (4) Results: A total of 34,005 deaths had been recorded, in which women accounted for 47.5%. The proportion of cardiovascular-related deaths was 48% (n = 16,370). An increase of SO2 concentration by 1-µg/m3 (relative risk (RR) 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.12; p = 0.005) and a 10 °C decrease of temperature (RR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01–1.05; p = 0.005) were related to an increase in the number of daily deaths. No gender differences in the impact of air pollution on mortality were observed. In the analysis of the subgroup of cardiovascular deaths, the main pollutant that was found to have an effect on daily mortality was particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5); the RR for 10-µg/m3 increase of PM2.5 was 1.07 (95% CI 1.02–1.12; p = 0.01), and this effect was noted only in the male population. (5) Conclusions: air quality and atmospheric conditions had an impact on the mortality of Bialystok residents. The main air pollutant that influenced the mortality rate was SO2, and there were no gender differences in the impact of this pollutant. In the male population, an increased exposure to PM2.5 concentration was associated with significantly higher cardiovascular mortality. These findings suggest that improving air quality, in particular, even with lower SO2 levels than currently allowed by the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, may benefit public health. Further studies on this topic are needed, but our results bring questions whether the recommendations concerning acceptable concentrations of air pollutants should be stricter, or is there a safe concentration of SO2 in the air at all.

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