Remote sensing application and geospatial analysis to evaluate community health risk associated with weather-related air pollution events

Abstract

Air pollution has long been identified as a major environmental factor that can influence health risk. While air pollution can be caused by traffic problems and urban development, weather-related events such as wildfire, dust storm, and haze can also increase the intensity of air pollution. In addition, the sudden increase of air pollution can be fatal because local population may have less adaptation to the extreme scenario related to low air quality. Based on these facts, satellite-derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) product retrieved from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) was applied to estimate spatial variability of air quality during the weather-related air pollution events. Geospatial modelling combining with spatial regression, epidemiological design, demographic data and urban morphologic datasets were also used to estimate the potential health risk caused by the increase in air pollution during the weather-related events. The results can be used to identify regional hotspots that may have high environmental health burden, in order to deliver planning protocols for community planning, disaster management, and emergency response.