Changes in Air Quality Health Index in a Coastal City of the Southeastern Aegean Sea between a Summer and Winter Period of 2022

Abstract

The increased concentration of pollutants is a challenge to the health of the population. This work aims to investigate the health risk that is related to the pollutants’ level in the center of Rhodes city. Rhodes Island is a desirable tourist destination with important economic activity over the southeastern Aegean Sea. This analysis covers the (summer) July–August months and the (winter) December month of 2022. Hourly recordings of the concentrations of PM2.5, NO2 and O3 from a mobile air quality monitoring system (AQMS) are analyzed. In order to investigate the effects of pollution level on people’s health, the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) is calculated. Results show that summer shows an increased health danger compared to winter period, possibly due to increased traffic emissions, tourist density and the different meteorological conditions. In the summer period, the AQHI is classified between the middle and upper-medium health risk class. During the winter month, AQHI is mainly classified in the low-medium health risk class. The summer shows increased health risk despite the AQHI diurnal variability being lower when compared to December. Additionally, the diurnal differences between the two periods show an increased health risk in the summer period for the majority of the hours. Finally, this analysis shows that traffic activities possibly affect the health risk and also highlights that the authorities should adopt green policies to protect human health and the environment.

Keywords

• Air Quality Health Index (AQHI)
• air quality
• pollution
• Rhodes Island
• southeastern Mediterranean
• Aegean Sea