Dataset Information

Air pollution and its associated health risks before and after COVID-19 in Shaanxi Province, China.

ABSTRACT: Air pollution is a serious environmental problem that damages public health. In the present study, we used the segmentation function to improve the health risk-based air quality index (HAQI) and named it new HAQI (NHAQI). To investigate the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of air pollutants and the associated health risks in Shaanxi Province before (Period I, 2015-2019) and after (Period II, 2020-2021) COVID-19. The six criteria pollutants were analyzed between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2021, using the air quality index (AQI), aggregate AQI (AAQI), and NHAQI. The results showed that compared with AAQI and NHAQI, AQI underestimated the combined effects of multiple pollutants. The average concentrations of the six criteria pollutants were lower in Period II than in Period I due to reductions in anthropogenic emissions, with the concentrations of PM_2.5 (particulate matter ≤2.5 μm diameter), PM₁₀ (PM ≤ 10 μm diameter) SO₂, NO₂, O₃, and CO decreased by 23.5%, 22.5%, 45.7%, 17.6%, 2.9%, and 41.6%, respectively. In Period II, the excess risk and the number of air pollution-related deaths decreased considerably by 46.5% and 49%, respectively. The cumulative population distribution estimated using the NHAQI revealed that 61% of the total number of individuals in Shaanxi Province were exposed to unhealthy air during Period I, whereas this proportion decreased to 16% during Period II. Although overall air quality exhibited substantial improvements, the associated health risks in winter remained high.

SUBMITTER: Ma Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9840128 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Air pollution and its associated health risks before and after COVID-19 in Shaanxi Province, China.

Ma Yuxia Y Cheng Bowen B Li Heping H Feng Fengliu F Zhang Yifan Y Wang Wanci W Qin Pengpeng P

Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) 20230114

Air pollution is a serious environmental problem that damages public health. In the present study, we used the segmentation function to improve the health risk-based air quality index (HAQI) and named it new HAQI (NHAQI). To investigate the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of air pollutants and the associated health risks in Shaanxi Province before (Period I, 2015-2019) and after (Period II, 2020-2021) COVID-19. The six criteria pollutants were analyzed between January 1, 2015, and De ...[more]

PMID: 36649879

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Dataset Information

Air pollution and its associated health risks before and after COVID-19 in Shaanxi Province, China.

Publications

Air pollution and its associated health risks before and after COVID-19 in Shaanxi Province, China.

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