Characterization of multi-pollutant air quality in China using health-centric air pollution indices

IF 7.3 2区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Environmental Pollution Pub Date : 2025-05-28 DOI:10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126565

Yiyi Wang , Zenghui Li , Fuping Qian , Conghong Huang , Jianlin Hu

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Abstract

Epidemiological studies have consistently demonstrated a strong association between air pollution and human health. However, the current Air Quality Index (AQI) methodology used in China has been criticized for relying solely on the maximum concentration of a single pollutant, thereby failing to reflect the cumulative health impact of multiple pollutants. This study evaluated the effectiveness of three alternative indices—the Health Risk-Based Air Quality Index (HAQI), the Air Quality Health Index, and the Air Pollution Index (API)—in characterizing multi-pollutant air quality across China from 2014 to 2023. Our analysis indicates that the AQI underestimates health risks in regions with simultaneous exceedances of multiple pollutants, particularly in the North China Plain. Moreover, pollutants such as SO₂ and CO contributed minimally to the overall AQI, whereas the excess risk (ER) value offered a more comprehensive representation of the health risks posed by all pollutants. The findings also show that HAQI and API more effectively captured seasonal variation in pollution levels and outperformed AQI in assessing the severity of health risks during episodes of severe air pollution. In conclusion, the study underscores the need for more stringent measures during high pollution events, beyond those currently recommended under the AQI framework.

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以健康为中心的空气污染指数表征中国多污染物空气质量

流行病学研究一贯表明，空气污染与人类健康之间存在密切联系。然而，中国目前使用的空气质量指数（AQI）方法因仅依赖单一污染物的最大浓度而受到批评，因此未能反映多种污染物对健康的累积影响。本研究评估了三个替代指标——基于健康风险的空气质量指数（HAQI）、空气质量健康指数和空气污染指数（API）——表征2014年至2023年中国多污染物空气质量的有效性。我们的分析表明，在多种污染物同时超标的地区，特别是华北平原，AQI低估了健康风险。此外，SO2和CO等污染物对总体AQI的贡献最小，而超额风险（ER）值更全面地反映了所有污染物构成的健康风险。研究结果还表明，HAQI和API更有效地捕捉了污染水平的季节性变化，在评估严重空气污染期间健康风险的严重程度方面优于AQI。总之，该研究强调了在高污染事件期间需要采取更严格的措施，而不是目前在AQI框架下建议的措施。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Environmental Pollution 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

16.00

自引率

6.70%

发文量

2082

审稿时长

2.9 months

期刊介绍： Environmental Pollution is an international peer-reviewed journal that publishes high-quality research papers and review articles covering all aspects of environmental pollution and its impacts on ecosystems and human health. Subject areas include, but are not limited to: • Sources and occurrences of pollutants that are clearly defined and measured in environmental compartments, food and food-related items, and human bodies; • Interlinks between contaminant exposure and biological, ecological, and human health effects, including those of climate change; • Contaminants of emerging concerns (including but not limited to antibiotic resistant microorganisms or genes, microplastics/nanoplastics, electronic wastes, light, and noise) and/or their biological, ecological, or human health effects; • Laboratory and field studies on the remediation/mitigation of environmental pollution via new techniques and with clear links to biological, ecological, or human health effects; • Modeling of pollution processes, patterns, or trends that is of clear environmental and/or human health interest; • New techniques that measure and examine environmental occurrences, transport, behavior, and effects of pollutants within the environment or the laboratory, provided that they can be clearly used to address problems within regional or global environmental compartments.