Using satellite-derived surface concentrations to estimate the mortality associated with ambient air pollution in cities worldwide
Abstract
Ambient air pollution in cities is of growing concern as two-thirds of the global population is expected to live in urban areas by 2050. Many cities currently lack information on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone concentrations and related local health impacts. This type of city-specific information can be used for a variety of purposes, including evaluating against other risk factors and to estimate health benefits of alternative air pollution and greenhouse gas mitigation actions. Satellite remote sensing of aerosol optical depth has improved our understanding of PM2.5 concentrations globally, including in cities with non-existent or limited ground monitoring networks. The high spatial resolution of satellite retrievals also enables urban health impact assessments to account for within-city heterogeneity in PM2.5 concentrations. Here we estimate PM2.5-related health impacts in cities globally, using satellite-derived PM2.5 estimates at 0.1°x0.1° degree resolution calibrated with surface monitoring where available, as well as epidemiologically-derived health impact functions used by the Global Burden of Disease 2016 Study. Using these methods, we estimate the burden of PM2.5 on stroke, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute lower respiratory infections within city boundaries worldwide. We find that estimated PM2.5 deaths per 100,000 people varies by over a factor of five among the 100 most populated cities globally. The largest population-normalized PM2.5-attributable mortality burdens are estimated in cities in Russia, India, and China. We show the degree to which these results are driven by differences between the cities in PM2.5 concentrations and baseline disease rates. We also report on efforts undertaken by the NASA Health and Air Quality Applied Science Team "Indicators" Tiger Team to 1) examine temporal trends in the city-level PM2.5 disease burden from 1990 to 2016, 2) compare the PM2.5 mortality burden against existing urban sustainability indicators to assess whether these indices adequately capture air pollution health impacts, and 3) develop an interactive web-based tool to showcase results for public stakeholder use.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFMGH34B..05A
- Keywords:
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- 0230 Impacts of climate change: human health;
- GEOHEALTHDE: 0240 Public health;
- GEOHEALTHDE: 0245 Vector born diseases;
- GEOHEALTHDE: 0299 General or miscellaneous;
- GEOHEALTH