Using neural networks and remote sensing for spatio-temporal prediction of air pollution during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The study aims to monitor air pollution in Iranian metropolises using remote sensing, specifically focusing on pollutants such as O₃, CH₄, NO₂, CO₂, SO₂, CO, and suspended particles (aerosols) in 2001 and 2019. Sentinel 5 satellite images are utilized to prepare maps of each pollutant. The relationship between these pollutants and land surface temperature (LST) is determined using linear regression analysis. Additionally, the study estimates air pollution levels in 2040 using Markov and Cellular Automata (CA)-Markov chains. Furthermore, three neural network models, namely multilayer perceptron (MLP), radial basis function (RBF), and long short-term memory (LSTM), are employed for predicting contamination levels. The results of the research indicate an increase in pollution levels from 2010 to 2019. It is observed that temperature has a strong correlation with contamination levels (R² = 0.87). The neural network models, particularly RBF and LSTM, demonstrate higher accuracy in predicting pollution with an R² value of 0.90. The findings highlight the significance of managing industrial towns to minimize pollution, as these areas exhibit both high pollution levels and temperatures. So, the study emphasizes the importance of monitoring air pollution and its correlation with temperature. Remote sensing techniques and advanced prediction models can provide valuable insights for effective pollution management and decision-making processes.

Keywords: Air pollution; COVID-19; Markov and CA-Markov chain; Neural network, industrial towns; Temperature.