Geospatial System of Air Pollution Data and Local Climate Zones in the Area Metropolitana de Barcelona

Abstract

To address the inadequacies of urban¿rural description, the ¿local climate zone¿ (LCZ) classification system has been developed. The LCZ system comprises 17 zone types at the local scale. Each type is unique in its combination of surface structure, cover, and human activity. Classification of sites into appropriate LCZs requires basic metadata and surface characterization. The LCZ system is designed primarily for urban heat island researchers, responding to the effect of fast urban development on local thermal climate but it has derivative uses for city planners, air quality, and global climate change investigators. Growing urbanization has also significant impacts on air pollution, which is known as a factor that affects humans health. Its assessment helps to know and understand what we must do to mitigate the damage. Recently, the idea that the information contained in the LCZ classification can help to predict the spatial distribution of air pollutants in urban environments is being explored. In this framework, this study reports the novel relationships between LCZs and air pollution in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. A viewer of the combined data has been developed though the free software QGIS. A vulnerability index calculation method for the areas surrounding air quality monitoring sites through the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona is proposed. Results obtained in this work have the potential to be extrapolated to different urban environments in Europe. Through the Web app, Streamlit, with python code, a data viewer has been created with the relationship between the air quality stations and the LCZs so that the client can analyse, play and internalize the data. Index Terms