Assessing the impact of coal furnace activities on air quality: A comprehensive spatial and temporal analysis

Air pollution is a critical threat to public health and environmental systems, primarily driven by industrial activities such as coal furnace operations. This study uses advanced spatial analysis techniques, including kriging and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), to assess the impact of these activities on air quality in a designated study area. The Air Quality Index (AQI) is also employed to evaluate air quality in this research. Additionally, five key variables—number of households, coal furnaces, average income, average cost, and AQI—are normalized using the MinMaxScaler for comparative analysis. Also, the results indicate that the southern and western regions of the study area have the highest pollutant concentrations, correlating with high AQI values and the density of coal furnaces and industrial activities. The PCA results show that urban areas are mainly affected by CO₂ and SO₂, significantly influencing the AQI, while agricultural land and other types of land (rangeland, forest, dryland, barren land) show varying dominant pollutants. Agricultural lands were found to be primarily impacted by SO₂, CO₂, and CO. In addition, a temporal analysis reveals a 10% annual increase in coal furnace operations from 2003 to 2024, contributing to the rise in pollution levels. The AQI optimization results also indicate a strong negative correlation between the number of coal furnaces and AQI, suggesting that reducing the number of coal furnaces can lower air pollution levels. These findings highlight the significant role of industrial emissions in worsening air quality and emphasize the need for cleaner technologies, reduced coal furnace usage, and stronger regulatory measures.