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Air Quality: Sustainability of Human Society
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Air Quality: Sustainability of Human Society

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Social Ecology and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2022) | Viewed by 10284

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Andy Chan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, 43500, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Interests: air pollution modeling; computational fluid dynamics
Prof. Li Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
Interests: air pollution modeling; air pollution sources and formation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Air quality is intrinsically related to the sustainability of human societies. This connection is not only related to human health, but to other aspects including socioeconomic sustainability and natural ecosystem livelihood. Air-pollution-imposed climate change and extreme weather hazards in particular pose great risks to human livelihoods.

While there is a large number of studies concerning monitoring, prediction, and improvement of air quality, there is comparatively little literature discussing the relationship between air quality and health, climate, ecosystem, agriculture, and economics leading to the sustainability of human societies. Such literature would definitely enhance the understanding of our policymakers so that more inclusive policies are enacted to ensure the long-term sustainability of human societies. 

The focus of this Special Issue (SI) is on addressing this apparent gap in knowledge. The aim is to collect works addressing the relationship between air quality with the various long-term sustainability issues of human societies. We would like to invite all aspects of research, especially multidisciplinary works, that tackle the issue in a holistic manner that can enrich our knowledge on the aforementioned issues.

The topics covered in this SI include but are not limited to the following possible topics:

  • Review of air quality and human society sustainability;
  • Climate change and air quality;
  • Effects of air quality on agriculture, agronomy, and food security;
  • Air quality on ecosystem changes;
  • Energy and air quality;
  • Effects of air quality on population health;
  • Air quality changes on disease dispersion;
  • Air quality effects on business and economy;
  • Extreme weather patterns associated with air quality;
  • Recent advances on air quality prognostic and diagnostic technologies;
  • Air quality monitoring and surveillance;
  • Adaptation to air quality changes;
  • Geographical aspects of air quality changes;
  • Human behavioral or psychological changes associated with air quality.

Prof. Andy Chan
Prof. Li Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • air quality
  • sustainability
  • human societies
  • energy
  • economic developments
  • agriculture
  • spatiotemporal variations
  • health
  • societal changes
  • human behavior

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 3810 KiB  
Article
Risk Assessment and Air Quality Study during Different Phases of COVID-19 Lockdown in an Urban Area of Klang Valley, Malaysia
by Mohd Shahrul Mohd Nadzir, Mohd Zaim Mohd Nor, Mohd Fadzil Firdzaus Mohd Nor, Muhamad Ikram A Wahab, Sawal Hamid Md Ali, Muhsin Kolapo Otuyo, Mohd Aftar Abu Bakar, Lip Huat Saw, Shubhankar Majumdar, Maggie Chel Gee Ooi, Faizal Mohamed, Badrul Akmal Hisham, Haris Hafizal Abd Hamid, Zaki Khaslan, Noratiqah Mohd Ariff, Johary Anuar, Gee Ren Tok, Nurul Asyikin Ya’akop and Mai’izzati Mohd Meswan
Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 12217; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132112217 - 05 Nov 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2635
Abstract
Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has had both positive and negative impacts on humans and the environment. In general, a positive impact can be seen on the environment, especially in regard to air quality. This positive impact on air quality around the world is [...] Read more.
Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has had both positive and negative impacts on humans and the environment. In general, a positive impact can be seen on the environment, especially in regard to air quality. This positive impact on air quality around the world is a result of movement control orders (MCO) or lockdowns, which were carried out to reduce the cases of COVID-19 around the world. Nevertheless, data on the effects on air quality both during and post lockdown at local scales are still sparse. Here, we investigate changes in air quality during normal days, the MCOs (MCO 1, 2 and 3) and post MCOs, namely the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) and the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) in the Klang Valley region. In this study, we used the air sensor network AiRBOXSense that measures carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) at Petaling Jaya South (PJS), Kelana Jaya (KJ) and Kota Damansara (KD). The results showed that the daily average concentrations of CO and NO2 mostly decreased in the order of normal days > MCO (MCO 1, 2 and 3) > CMCO > RMCO. PM10, PM2.5, SO2 and O3 showed a decrease from the MCO to RMCO. PJS showed that air pollutant concentrations decreased from normal days to the lockdown phases. This clearly shows the effects of ‘work from home’ orders at all places in the PJS city. The greatest percentage reductions in air pollutants were observed during the change from normal days to MCO 1 (24% to 64%), while during MCO 1 to MCO 2, the concentrations were slightly increased during the changes of the lockdown phase, except for SO2 and NO2 over PJS. In KJ, most of the air pollutants decreased from MCO 1 to MCO 3 except for CO. However, the percentage reduction and increments of the gas pollutants were not consistent during the different phases of lockdown, and this effect was due to the sensor location—only 20 m from the main highway (vehicle emissions). The patterns of air pollutant concentrations over the KD site were similar to the PJS site; however, the percentage reduction and increases of PM2.5, O3, SO2 and CO were not consistent. We believe that local burning was the main contribution to these unstable patterns during the lockdown period. The cause of these different changes in concentrations may be due to the relaxation phases during the lockdown at each station, where most of the common activities, such as commuting and industrial activities changed in frequency from the MCO, CMCO and RMCO. Wind direction also affected the concentrations, for example, during the CMCO and RMCO, most of the pollutants were blowing in from the Southeast region, which mostly consists of a city center and industrial areas. There was a weak correlation between air pollutants and the temperature and relative humidity at all stations. Health risk assessment analysis showed that non-carcinogenic risk health quotient (HQ) values for the pollutants at all stations were less than 1, suggesting unlikely non-carcinogenic effects, except for SO2 (HQ > 1) in KJ. The air quality information showed that reductions in air pollutants can be achieved if traffic and industry emissions are strictly controlled. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Quality: Sustainability of Human Society)
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11 pages, 360 KiB  
Communication
Estimating the Economic Value of Improving the Asian Dust Aerosol Model in the Korean Household Sector: A Choice Experiment
by Hye-Min Kim, In-Gyum Kim, Byunghwan Lim and Seung-Hoon Yoo
Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 12054; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132112054 - 01 Nov 2021
Viewed by 1258
Abstract
Asian dust (AD), a seasonal phenomenon in East Asia, refers to dust winds that blow from inland China and the Gobi Desert. Generally, AD occurs in the spring, but due to climate change and the desertification of AD sources, it has recently started [...] Read more.
Asian dust (AD), a seasonal phenomenon in East Asia, refers to dust winds that blow from inland China and the Gobi Desert. Generally, AD occurs in the spring, but due to climate change and the desertification of AD sources, it has recently started occurring in every season except for midsummer. The occurrence of AD adversely affects human health and damages various industries. Accordingly, the Korean Meteorological Administration has provided an AD forecast service to minimize damage. The most essential part of providing the AD forecast service is the Asian Dust Aerosol Model (ADAM). This study tries to provide useful information for policymaking and research and development by deriving the economic value of ADAM improvement. To this end, a choice experiment (CE) was applied. The CE can derive the marginal value of or the marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) of improvement in attribute. All the MWTP estimates obtained in this study were statistically significant. The household MWTP estimates for a 1% improvement in ADAM accuracy and a one-level subdividing were obtained as USD 0.04 and USD 0.12 per household. This finding indicates that people have a greater preference for improving AD forecast segmentation than for improving ADAM accuracy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Quality: Sustainability of Human Society)
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19 pages, 3750 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Air Quality on Inbound Tourist Arrivals over China Based on Grey Relational Analysis
by Wei Zhang, Ziqiang Liu, Yujie Zhang, Elly Yaluk and Li Li
Sustainability 2021, 13(19), 10972; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su131910972 - 02 Oct 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1851
Abstract
Air pollution has a significant impact on tourism; however, research in this area is still limited. In this study, we applied grey relational analysis to panel data from 31 provinces in China and evaluated the relationship between air quality and inbound tourist arrivals. [...] Read more.
Air pollution has a significant impact on tourism; however, research in this area is still limited. In this study, we applied grey relational analysis to panel data from 31 provinces in China and evaluated the relationship between air quality and inbound tourist arrivals. The study focused on provincial-level disparities for the different key air quality evaluation standards during 2009–2012 and 2013–2019. For instance, we considered PM10, SO2, NO2 and the excellent and good ratings of Air Pollution Index (API) during 2009–2012 and the additional PM2.5, CO, O3 and the excellent and good ratings of Air Quality Index (AQI) from 2013 to 2019. Results indicate that: (1) Inbound tourist arrivals are significantly and positively affected by ambient air quality, and the impact from 2013 to 2019 was greater than that from 2009 to 2012; (2) there is regional diversity in inbound tourist arrivals, and the impact of the different air quality indicators varies; (3) inbound tourists showed greater sensitivity to air pollution under the AQI standard; (4) the impact of air quality indicators on the inbound tourist arrivals shows grey relational order, and the concentration of PM2.5, PM10 and SO2 have less impact than NO2, CO and O3 on changes in tourism numbers; (5) consistency in the air quality impact on foreign tourists and compatriot tourists from HK, MO and TW varies by air quality indicators. This study highlights the need for appropriate measures to improve air quality for high-quality and sustainable development of inbound tourism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Quality: Sustainability of Human Society)
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17 pages, 2613 KiB  
Article
Assessment of the Effect of the Three-Year Action Plan to Fight Air Pollution on Air Quality and Associated Health Benefits in Sichuan Basin, China
by Juihui Chen, Xiaoqiong Feng, Yonghui Zhu, Ling Huang, Min He, Yuan Li, Elly Yaluk, Li Han, Junjie Wang, Yuhong Qiao and Li Li
Sustainability 2021, 13(19), 10968; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su131910968 - 02 Oct 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1940
Abstract
To continuously improve air quality, after implementation of the “Clean Air Action Plan, 2013–2017” (CAAP), the “Three-year Action Plan to Fight Air Pollution” (TYP) was further conducted from 2018 to 2020. However, the effectiveness of the TYP remains unclear in one of the [...] Read more.
To continuously improve air quality, after implementation of the “Clean Air Action Plan, 2013–2017” (CAAP), the “Three-year Action Plan to Fight Air Pollution” (TYP) was further conducted from 2018 to 2020. However, the effectiveness of the TYP remains unclear in one of the major city-clusters of China, the Sichuan Basin. In this study, the bottom-up method was used to quantify the emission reduction during TYP based on the emissions inventory in Sichuan Basin in 2017 and the air pollution control measures adopted from 2018 to 2020 in each city. The reduction of PM2.5 concentration and the avoided premature deaths due to implementation of air pollution control measures were assessed by using an integrated meteorology and air quality modeling system and a concentration-response algorithm. Emissions of SO2, NOx, PM2.5, and VOCs in the Sichuan Basin have been reduced by 42.6, 105.2, 40.2, and 136.6 Gg, respectively. The control of non-electricity industry contributed significantly to the emission reduction of all pollutants, accounting for 26–49%. In addition, the control of mobile sources contributes the most to NOx reductions, accounting for 57%. The results illustrate that the focus of air pollution control in Sichuan Basin is still industrial sources. We also found that the emission reduction of NOx, PM2.5, and VOCs in Chengdu is significantly higher than that of other cities, which were about 3.4~15.4 times, 2.2~40.1 times, and 4.3~24.4 times that of other cities, respectively. In Sichuan Basin, the average reduction rate of PM2.5 concentration due to air pollution control measures was 5% on average, with the highest contributions from industry, mobile source, and dust emission control. The decrease rate in each city ranges between 1~10%, and the decreasing ratios in Dazhou (10%), Chengdu (8%), and Zigong (7%) are relatively higher. The number of premature deaths avoided due to air pollution control measures in Sichuan Basin is estimated to be 22,934. Chengdu and Dazhou have benefitted most from the air pollution control measures, with 6043 and 2713 premature deaths avoided, respectively. Our results indicate that the implementation of TYP has achieved remarkable environmental and health benefits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Quality: Sustainability of Human Society)
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17 pages, 26870 KiB  
Article
A Comparative Study on Air Pollution Characteristics in Four Key Cities during 2013 in Guangxi Province, China
by Jing-Ying Mao, Zhi-Ming Chen, Zong-Kai Jiang, Zhao-Yu Mo, Hong-Jiao Li, Fan Meng, Bei Chen, Hui-Jiao Ling and Hong Li
Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1612; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13041612 - 03 Feb 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1532
Abstract
Based on ambient air quality data of the four key cities (Nanning, Liuzhou, Guilin, and Beihai) in Guangxi, China, along with an analysis of the main emission sources, topographic features, weather conditions, and backward trajectories, the variation of main air pollutants and pollution [...] Read more.
Based on ambient air quality data of the four key cities (Nanning, Liuzhou, Guilin, and Beihai) in Guangxi, China, along with an analysis of the main emission sources, topographic features, weather conditions, and backward trajectories, the variation of main air pollutants and pollution episodes in the four cities were studied. Results showed that air pollution was most serious in Liuzhou and Guilin, followed by Nanning and Beihai. PM2.5 was the dominant pollutant in each city, followed by O3, PM10, and NO2. Concentrations of SO2 and CO did not exceed their National Ambient Air Quality Standard Grade II limit values. In the cities, the concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and SO2 were high during fall and winter and low during spring and summer, while the concentrations of O3 were high during fall and low during the other seasons. Concentrations of CO were low during summer and high during the other seasons in Nanning and Liuzhou, while they were high during spring and winter and low during summer and fall in Guilin and Beihai. In these cities, pollution episodes resulted mainly from stagnant accumulation and showed characteristics of regional pollution. However, pollution levels and durations for each city were different due to differences in main pollution sources, local geography, and weather conditions. The influences of air masses on the four cities were similar. They were mainly influenced by local emission sources in the spring, while during autumn, long-distance transportation from Hunan and Hubei was significant. In winter, air pollution in Nanning and Beihai was mostly affected by local emission sources, and that in Liuzhou and Guilin was mainly affected by long-distance transportation from the south and northeast of Guangxi. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Quality: Sustainability of Human Society)
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