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. 2022 Aug 20;19(16):10388.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph191610388.

Heat Wave and Bushfire Meteorology in New South Wales, Australia: Air Quality and Health Impacts

Mohammad S Islam  1 , Tianxin Fang  1 , Callum Oldfield  1 , Puchanee Larpruenrudee  1 , Hamidreza Mortazavy Beni  2 , Md M Rahman  3 , Shahid Husain  4 , Yuantong Gu  5
Affiliations

Heat Wave and Bushfire Meteorology in New South Wales, Australia: Air Quality and Health Impacts

Mohammad S Islam et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The depletion of air quality is a major problem that is faced around the globe. In Australia, the pollutants emitted by bushfires play an important role in making the air polluted. These pollutants in the air result in many adverse impacts on the environment. This paper analysed the air pollution from the bushfires from November 2019 to July 2020 and identified how it affects the human respiratory system. The bush fires burnt over 13 million hectares, destroying over 2400 buildings. While these immediate effects were devastating, the long-term effects were just as devastating, with air pollution causing thousands of people to be admitted to hospitals and emergency departments because of respiratory complications. The pollutant that caused most of the health effects throughout Australia was Particulate Matter (PM) PM2.5 and PM10. Data collection and analysis were covered in this paper to illustrate where and when PM2.5 and PM10, and other pollutants were at their most concerning levels. Susceptible areas were identified by analysing environmental factors such as temperature and wind speed. The study identified how these pollutants in the air vary from region to region in the same time interval. This study also focused on how these pollutant distributions vary according to the temperature, which helps to determine the relationship between the heatwave and air quality. A computational model for PM2.5 aerosol transport to the realistic airways was also developed to understand the bushfire exhaust aerosol transport and deposition in airways. This study would improve the knowledge of the heat wave and bushfire meteorology and corresponding respiratory health impacts.

Keywords: PM10; PM2.5; bushfire; health impacts; heat wave.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The location map of the sight of the air-quality analysis. (a) selected areas including Upper Hunter and Sydney, (b) selected sight of air-quality analysis in Sydney, and (c) selected sight of air-quality analysis in Upper Hunter. (All numbers are referred to the selected locations which can be seen in Table 1).
Figure 1
Figure 1
The location map of the sight of the air-quality analysis. (a) selected areas including Upper Hunter and Sydney, (b) selected sight of air-quality analysis in Sydney, and (c) selected sight of air-quality analysis in Upper Hunter. (All numbers are referred to the selected locations which can be seen in Table 1).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The average temperature (°C) in Sydney Central East, North West, South West, and Upper Hunter region for a period of eight months during 2018–2019 and 2019–2020, (a) daily average temperature, and (b) monthly average temperature.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Time average map of surface temperature at NSW for day and night time for a period of eight months during 2018–2019 and 2019–2020, (a) overall monthly surface temperature 2018–2019, (b) overall monthly surface temperature 2019–2020, (c) nighttime descending 2018–2019, (d) nighttime descending 2019–2020, (e) daytime ascending 2018–2019, and (f) daytime ascending 2019–2020 (accessed on 23 April 2022).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Maximum monthly temperature at different locations of NSW for a wide range of periods.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The average wind speed in Sydney Central East, North West, South West, and Upper Hunter region for a period of eight months during 2018–2019 and 2019–2020, (a) daily average wind speed, and (b) monthly average wind speed.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The monthly average NO emission in Sydney Central East, North West, South West, and Upper Hunter region for a period of eight months during 2018–2019 and 2019–2020.
Figure 7
Figure 7
The average NO2 emission in Sydney Central East, North West, South West, and Upper Hunter region for a period of eight months during 2018–2019 and 2019–2020, (a) daily average NO2 emission, and (b) monthly average NO2 emission.
Figure 8
Figure 8
The average Ozone [pphm] in Sydney Central East, North West, South West, and Upper Hunter region for a period of eight months during 2018–2019 and 2019–2020, (a) daily average Ozone, and (b) monthly average Ozone.
Figure 9
Figure 9
The average CO [kg/m2s] emission map on monthly basis over a wide range of periods, (a) November 2018 to June 2019, and (b) November 2019 to June 2020.
Figure 10
Figure 10
The average PM10 emission in Sydney Central East, North West, South West, and Upper Hunter region for a period of eight months during 2018–2019 and 2019–2020, (a) daily PM10 emission, and (b) monthly PM10 emission.
Figure 11
Figure 11
The average PM2.5 emission in Sydney Central East, North West, South West and Upper Hunter region for a period of eight months during 2018–2019 and 2019–2020, (a) daily PM2.5 emission, and (b) monthly PM2.5 emission.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Respiratory health impacts of bushfire exhaust particles.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Reconstructed models of the mouth–throat and tracheobronchial airways: (a) healthy lung model, (b) stenosis lung model.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Velocity contours at different positions in the mouth–throat and tracheobronchial airways at a flow rate of 60 L/min.
Figure 15
Figure 15
Velocity profiles at different cross-sections in the mouth–throat and tracheobronchial airways at a flow rate of 60 l/min.
Figure 16
Figure 16
Particle deposition of 2.5 µm particles at a flow rate of 60 L/min; (a) Healthy lung model, (b) Stenosis lung airways.
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