From the evaluation report, we’ve found out the common feedback that the audience want to see 1) why AQI is high or low on certain days and 2) what exactly AQI is impacting in their lives. It seems that in order to make people pay more attention to the chart, we have to validate the motivation for learning about how AQI works. Understanding these insights, the AQI research team embarked on a journey to connect the data to our real lives by finding the various causes of AQI trends or changes.
Based on our AQI data model, we observed that on 2/28-3/1 2023, the AQI in the Atlanta area peaked at 80 for the first time that year. Our team decided to search the date on Google News to find any relevant events that may have caused this significant increase.
The reasons may vary and multiple factors can contribute to high AQI during the season, so it’s hard to pinpoint just one factor that changed. But here are the findings we have:
1. Relationship between Pollen and AQI:
According to the Atlanta local news, we were able to find that during late February to March, there was a report from the “Atlanta Allergy and Asthma Department” announcing that the pollen rate had reached 1,126 on February 28th. Our team wondered if high pollen pollution may have impacted the air quality. According to research papers, researchers found that pollen fragments can be as small as 0.25 microns. Thus, if pollen breaks into smaller pieces, it can show up in air quality readings. These smaller pieces can penetrate deeper into the lungs. So, our research team wondered if the pollen calendar would match up with the air quality trend.
February Pollen Rate
Atlanta February AQITrend
It was not exactly identical with the AQI trend, yet the fact that from 2/7 to 2/10 the AQI was moderate, while on 2/28-3/1 it was almost AQI 80, is something interesting to compare.
2. Relationship between Social Protests and AQI
Our team also wanted to see if there’s any relationship between social activities and AQI levels. On March 6-10, 2023, the AQI reached its highest peak of the month, resulting in 80 in the Atlanta area. On the same day, there was a domestic incident involving protests against the Atlanta police. Link The incident included illegal fireworks and arson cases.
This again may be caused by various reasons and is hard to define the sole reason for the AQI. However, it was interesting to find that one research paper found the influence of social strikes or national protests on Air Quality Index (AQI) levels. For instance, in Ecuador, when public transportation services were disrupted due to a strike, there was a notable rise in PM2.5 levels, attributed to the increased utilization of private vehicles.
“PM can originate from various sources, such as traffic, thermoelectric plants, oil refineries, fires, among others4. Thus, the concentration and composition of PM at a specific location depend on an array of factors, such as the characteristics of local sources, regional context, weather conditions and changes in human activities.”
3. Relationship between Construction and Air Quality
Our team also looked to see if there were environmental causes that may have impacted the AQI, as most pollutants come from construction, burning trash, engine oil, etc. This may not be a direct cause, but there has been BeltLine construction ongoing in Atlanta for six months. It is scientifically proven that “Construction sites are responsible for 14.5% of particulate matter in the air and 8% of total emissions in the United States.”
4. Sports Event and Air Quality
When there are more people, more pollutants are raised.” Our team now wonders if any sports or music events may impact the air quality in the area. On April 25-26, the AQI was recorded at a maximum of 80. At the same time, there was a big NBA basketball event with the Atlanta Hawks versus the Boston Celtics. According to Statista, during the NBA season, an average of 18,000 fans attended NBA games throughout the season. Based on these numbers, we also found a recent research study on the impact of National Football League (NFL) games on air pollution. “Pollution data from the EPA’s data warehouse were collected from 2014 to 2018 to investigate if NFL game attendance had an influence on air quality. They analyzed six major forms of air pollution: Ozone (O3), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5), and Particulate Matter 10 (PM10). The results showed that Ozone and Nitrogen Dioxide levels increased as more fans attended NFL games. In addition, the average NFL event resulted in an approximately two-percent increase in O3 and NO2 levels, which are most likely related to vehicle emissions.
5. Holiday Season and Air Quality
The holiday season, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, is when American people travel the most throughout the year. Our team also wanted to check if the Christmas season’s AQI has a distinctive rise due to increased travel and car usage. However, the study reveals that indoor air quality during these seasons is more problematic due to cooking and candles.
“Christmas Day may well be the most toxic day of the year. It has the same effect as standing by the side of a busy London road for four hours, which is not something most people would choose to do. If you are asthmatic, you will become breathless, and this kind of air pollution could also raise people’s risk of cardiovascular disease… Gas ovens release nitrogen dioxide, which is linked to a higher risk of asthma, wheezing, coughs, colds, flu, and bronchitis, while wood stoves disperse smoke, both inside and out, which is linked to premature death.”
6. Climate Change and Air Quality
One of the biggest climate issues in 2023 was Canada’s wildfire. Even though Canada is relatively far away from Atlanta, it was apparent that during these times, the air quality reached its highest levels of the entire year. The data shows that.
– 6/4 – 6/8: MAX AQI 100 – Moderate – 6/9 – 6/10: MAX AQI 120 – Hazardous – 6/17-18: MAX AQI 100 – Yellow – 6/26 – 6/30: MAX AQI 140 – Hazardous – Canada Wildfire smoke pollution – 7/17 – 7/18: MAX AQI 150 – Hazardous – Canada Wildfire smoke returns to U.S
As can be seen in these two charts and by comparing the air quality data, it is evident that Canada’s wildfire has impacted Atlanta’s air quality throughout June and July. Additionally, it was interesting to note that the news about Canada Wildfire smoke returning to the U.S. matches the timeline of the peak AQI level on July 17-18, reaching 150.
Implementing to Design Prototype
Based on these research, the our research team decided to work on how we can connect these findings into our data. This is the sketch of our ideas: if you tap on one of the AQI daily data points, the preview of the relevant news will show up. This will be pre-set into our database, not connected with real news data due to inaccuracies in sorting relevant data automatically. If users click on the news, we would like to present what happened on this day that caused the high AQI level. However, we would like to mention that our team is considering covering a few incidents of the days of the month to connect the news. Because most days in the Atlanta area have good air quality, it does not really say much. We hope to continue developing this prototype while keeping our initial learning goal of understanding how AQI works.
