Evaluation of air pollution, local meteorology and urban public health

The relationship between meteorological conditions and air pollution was assessed as a plausible explanation for respiratory health problems in Newark, New Jersey on the US east coast. Pollutants in both particle (PM_2.5 and PM₁₀) and gas phase (O₃) were collected and analysed. We find that PM_2.5 concentrations decreased by -30.8% (95% CI: -43.2%, -15.8%) when the prevailing westerly wind speeds increased by 1 unit. A 0.01 ppm increase in O₃ was associated with a rise in daily respiratory hospital admissions by 2.159 (95% CI: 0.72, 3.59) on 1 lag day. A small decrease in the monthly mean PM_2.5 concentration was associated with a corresponding decrease in hospital admissions. These initial findings suggest that local meteorological conditions influence the concentrations of both particulate and gas phase pollutants which in turn, can affect respiratory health problems in this urban area. More comprehensive investigations will be followed based on this pilot study.