Air quality and pollution in Apulia region: an analysis by a multilevel approach

Air pollution represents a critical problem in urban areas and their sustainable development, since it causes damage to human health and environment. The analysis of air pollution concentration has to consider that it can significantly vary across time and space and is transported in the atmosphere. The aim of this paper is to implement a multilevel multivariate model to explore the prominent spatio-temporal factors which can influence air quality in Apulia region. For this purpose, the present study considers spatial and temporal variations of air quality by using a free public dataset, collected by the ARPA (Regional Agency for the Protection of the Environment) through an air quality monitoring network spread all over the Apulia region. Such network consists of both traffic stations, usually installed in urban or suburban areas, and background/industrial stations, located also in rural areas. A thorough analysis of the diurnal and seasonal variation of some relevant air pollutants (such as particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ground-level ozone) considered by the World Health Organization as the most hazardous air pollutants, will be presented. The empirical findings will demonstrate a significant relationship between air quality and the type of area where the monitoring stations are located (traffic/city center, residential, rural and industrial) as well as the contribution of meteorological variables (such as temperature and humidity)