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Impacts of Socioeconomic Development on Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) and Human Comfort in the State of Kuwait

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Abstract

The relationship between particulate matter and economic growth, as well as the relationship between economic growth and Greenhouse Gas emissions, has been the topic of considerable investigations over the past two decades. Kuwait has a hot, dry, and desert climate that makes the outside air affected by natural and other unnatural factors. Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) samples were monthly collected for a 41-years (from 1980 to 2021) over the state of Kuwait. This study presents a detailed investigation of possible correlation and regression analysis between PM2.5 mass column concentration and socioeconomic factors, and they are as follows: GDP per Capita (GDPP), Greenhouse Gas emissions, and population density during the same period. The correlation between per Capita GDP and PM2.5 concentration is statistically positive and supported at the highest level of significance. The Greenhouse Gas emissions and population density proportion exhibit significant positive effects, demonstrating that these two factors strongly affect PM2.5 pollution. The results of the regression analysis for Kuwait shows a significant positive relationship between GDP per Capita and PM2.5, all of which remained significant at the 1% level. The consequence of the increase in per Capita GDP, according to the results reported in the study, should be an increase in the level of PM2.5 column density and vice versa. A significant positive correlation with a value of 0.8805 was found between Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) in extremely hot years and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Human activities lead to an environmental imbalance, and this will certainly affect future generations, so what is required to do is to feel a moral responsibility towards the environment around us.

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Availability of Data and Materials

The climatic data used in this research paper obtained from (a) MERRA-2 satellite model data provided by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), through its Earth science research program; (b) World Development Indicators issued by the World Bank; and (c) AgERA5-Reanalysis (agricultural and agro-ecological studies) datasets. The study's supporting data and environmental metadata were obtained from freely accessible online sources via the websites of the models. All data are available from the corresponding author, [Hasan Aldashti], upon request.

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Funding

This work was not supported financially in any way. No funding was received to help in the preparation of this manuscript. Kuwait Meteorology, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Meteorology, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Kuwait, State of Kuwait

    Hasan Aldashti

  2. Palestinian Meteorological Department, Ministry of Transport, Gaza, Palestine

    Zaher AlAbadla

  3. Astronomy, Space Sciences and Meteorology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, P.O. 12613, Giza, Egypt

    Mohamad Magdy Abdel Wahab

  4. Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT), National Scientific Committee for Problems in Environment (SCOPE), 101 Kasr Al-Ini Street, Cairo, Egypt

    Mohamad Magdy Abdel Wahab

  5. Environmental Pollution and Climate Program, Kuwait Institute for Research and Science, Kuwait, State of Kuwait

    Mohamed F. Yassin

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  1. Hasan Aldashti
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  2. Zaher AlAbadla
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  4. Mohamed F. Yassin
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Contributions

The study's inception and design involved input from all authors. Material preparation and data collection were performed by [Hasan Aldashti] and [Mohamad Magdy Abdel Wahab]; reviewing by [Mohamed F. Yassin]; the first draft of the manuscript was written by [Zaher Alabadla]. All authors provided feedback on earlier drafts of the work. The final manuscript was read and approved by all authors.

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Correspondence to Hasan Aldashti.

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Aldashti, H., AlAbadla, Z., Abdel Wahab, M.M. et al. Impacts of Socioeconomic Development on Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) and Human Comfort in the State of Kuwait. Pure Appl. Geophys. 181, 1907–1918 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-024-03506-z

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