Impacts of Land Use and Land Cover Changes on Regional Atmospheric Environment and Human Health in Changchun, Northeast China

Abstract

Land use and land cover (LULC) changes have a considerable influence on the surface energy balance, altering regional meteorology and air quality. However, this impact is not quantified in Changchun, an important city in the old industrial base of Northeast China. In this work, based on the WRF-CMAQ model, the Urban scenario (present LULC data) and NO_Urban scenario (replacement urban surfaces with farmland in the Urban scenario) were simulated to assess the impact of LULC changes on meteorology and air quality in Changchun. We found that the T2 (2-m temperature) increased at night in the urban cover area (UCA), with maximum values of 1 °C and 1.2 °C in winter and summer, respectively. During the daytime, the T2 in the UCA increased by 1.6 °C in winter and decreased by 1.5 °C in summer. In winter, WS10 (10-m wind speed) in the UCA decreased by an average of 1.5 m/s throughout the day, while increasing by 0.3 m/s and 1.2 m/s during the daytime and nighttime in summer, respectively. The PBLH in the UCA showed the most pronounced changes in the afternoon, rising by 200m and 210 m in winter and summer, respectively, with a modest rise in the morning and night. For PM2.5 in winter, the regional meteorological variance resulted in a rise of 15 μg/m3 at UCA in the morning and a drop of 20 μg/m3 and 14 μg/m3 in the afternoon and evening, respectively. To investigate the effect of PM2.5 exposure on population health, the GEMM model was used to estimate the mortality burden of five health endpoints associated with PM2.5 exposure. The findings revealed that the health risk of PM2.5 exposure on Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) and Stroke was greater in Changchun. When compared to the NO_Urban scenario, lower PM2.5 exposure concentrations in the Urban scenario resulted in fewer health risks. This study shows that lowering PM2.5 exposure concentrations can effectively reduce the risk of air pollution to human health, and that future urban design and air pollution control should safeguard public health even more.

Note:
Funding Declaration: This work was supported by the Ecology and Environment Department of Jilin Province (2018-19 and 2019-08).

Conflict of Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Keywords: WRF-CMAQ, LULC Changes, Regional Atmospheric Environment, Human Health, Changchun