International Journal of Environmental Science and Development

Abstract—Air pollution is a global health concern that should be monitored to avoid grave consequences on human health. The rapid developments in the United Arab Emirates, in combination with its geographic location and arid climate, make it an area susceptible to unhealthy air quality indices, particularly due to the high concentrations of particulate matter in the country. Air quality can be monitored through a combination of ground data and satellite imagery. In this study, a numerical model was developed to estimate particulate matter 10 μm in size (PM10) concentrations in Abu Dhabi City through linear regression analysis using data points from 2016, 2018, and 2020. The model was validated, and the data was processed to generate PM10 concentration maps for the area of interest. The maps show similar levels of PM10, with higher unhealthy concentrations reported in desert and suburban areas. The model was validated using data from 2021, and the map reveals unhealthy concentrations across various areas in the area of interest. This study also examines the concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and formaldehyde in 2018 and 2020 for the same area of interest using Sentinel-5P imagery. The results show that the concentration of nitrogen dioxide decreased in 2020, likely due to imposed lockdowns and reduced industrial activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, formaldehyde and sulfur dioxide concentrations were relatively low in both years, indicating that PM10 pollution is of higher concern than other contaminants in the United Arab Emirates.

Keywords—air quality mapping, particulate matter, air pollution

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Cite: Ruba El Mootassem, Zahraa Al-Dawood, and Tarig Ali, "Spatiotemporal Air Quality Mapping and PM10 Modelling in Abu Dhabi City, UAE," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 57-62, 2024.

Copyright © 2024 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).