Air pollution and respiratory health risks in Jharkhand: a remote sensing and statistical approach

Air pollution has been worse since the Industrial Revolution and is now a significant health issue around the world. In this study, we have focused on assessing spatiotemporal changes in air pollution and its impact on public health status in Jharkhand using MODIS aerosol optical depth (AOD), concentration of particulate matter like PM_2.5 and respirable suspended particulate matter (PM₁₀), SO₂, and NO₂, along with detailed statistics of number of asthma patients collected from the Annual Health Survey, Census of India. The study reveals that most districts in the northern and eastern boundaries of the state have higher concentrations of PM_2.5 and AOD values, while the southwestern part has lower concentrations. The highest decadal mean ± SD AOD was found in Godda district (0.432 ± 0.05), while the lowest was in Gumla district (0.202 ± 0.02). Potential regional variations in air quality are highlighted by the assessment of PM_2.5 concentrations, which shows a distinct geographical pattern with both decadal and annual mean levels consistently increasing from the southwestern region to the eastern and northern portions of the study region. Aerosol loading increased by 13.95% and 2.945% over the study area from 2010 to 2013, respectively. The predominance of RSPM in-ground monitoring stations was observed, with annual concentrations higher than the national ambient air quality level due to proximity to mining zones or industrial activities. Jamshedpur and Dhanbad cities also showed higher annual concentrations of NO₂. The study found that urban populations are 49.75% more affected than rural populations, with male-urban populations being more affected by 23.60% and female-urban populations by 58.26%. The average growth rate of total patients diagnosed with asthma was 92.84% and 90.13% from 2010 to 2013, respectively. Rural populations are more affected by air pollution due to their involvement in anthropogenic activities like wood and metal workshops, brick kilns, construction work, mining, and cement industries. Thus, both the short- and long-term studies infer that the variation in the mean concentration of PM_2.5 and AOD throughout the study region is positively and significantly correlated with the number of persons who reported having asthma. The study provides a detailed insight into air pollution assessment and its impacts on public health, helping the government and policymakers adopt new policies to mitigate and manage air pollution levels and improve public health status in the study area.