Prediction of Tropospheric Ozone Levels from Land Surface Temperature in the Urban Area of Durango, Dgo., Mexico

Air pollution in urban centers comes from anthropogenic activities. Tropospheric ozone (O3) depends on chemical precursors that promote an increase in its production, mainly in wind-dominated and large green areas. It is a gas produced by a series of complex chemical reactions catalyzed by sunlight in the atmosphere. It can be concentrated to a greater or lesser extent depending on factors such as the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the amount of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), the intensity of solar radiation, or by climatic conditions such as temperature and other factors. The objective of this study was to predict tropospheric ozone levels from Land Surface Temperature (LST) data of Landsat 8 in the city of Durango, Dgo. Tropospheric O3 and LST values were obtained from 14 sampling points in the urban area of the city of Durango, of which 11 were obtained by collecting from temperature-monitoring station data and the rest from three fixed monitoring stations established in the city, specifically located in Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (SRNyMA), Durango Institute of Technology (ITD) and Interdisciplinary Research Center for Regional Integral Development Durango Unit (CIIDIR). A correlation analysis was performed for the 12 months of the year 2023. Subsequently, a linear regression analysis was executed for each month. The results showed a greater positive correlation between O3 concentration and temperature for January (r = 0.91); additionally, this period showed a greater goodness of fit in the prediction of O3 (R2 = 0.91; RMSE = 0.65 ppm). The LST allows for the spatial prediction of ozone concentrations in terms of covering complete urban areas without measuring air stations.