Integration and Evaluation of published Spatial Data on Air pollution for a selected test site in the Czech Republic.

Eva Plešingrová

Bachelor's thesis

Abstract:

With the rising awareness about the negative effects of air pollution, many agencies have started to monitor and combat it, e.g. the European Environmental Agency (EEA), the World Air Quality Index Project China (AQICN), the World Health Organisation (WHO). Each agency has developed its own Air Quality Index (AQI) scale to categorise risks of concentration thresholds. Although globally used, questions of data consistency between platform data remain. The thesis aims to test this consistency and understand its usefulness for interpretation of results. Using Teplice as a case study, data from three ground-based data sources (the Czech Hydro-Meteorological Institute (CHMI), EEA, and AQICN) was collected on five pollutants of primary health relevance (SO2, NO2, O3, PM10 and PM2.5) for a period of one month. Additionally, pollution data from satellites was collected but deemed incomparable due to poor raster resolution, scarce coverage and format incompatibility. The collected data was harmonized in format and frequency and then tested for similarity using the CHMI dataset as the control group, as they are the national environmental data provider and the owners of the measuring station. Comparative analyses supported by graphs indicated that both EEA and AQICN source their data from CHMI. Correlations strongly suggest a one-hour temporal lag for AQICN. This reflects impacts and limitations of processing and publishing data on real-time provision and usability. Furthermore it highlights the necessity of understanding background processes when interpreting data. Overall the high level of congruence between all datasets suggests that the studied platforms provide a reliable representation of air quality suitable for public information, however minor discrepancies between values and temporal alignment might become significant for higher precision requirements.

Keywords

air pollution, spatial data analysis, spatial data integration, human health

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 31. 3. 2026

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 26. 5. 2026
• Supervisor: Mgr. Michal Lodin, MSc
• Reader: Peter Kumble, doc.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Environmental Sciences

Bachelor programme:
Environmental Engineering