Development of GIS-based Box Model Tool for Air Quality Mapping with Python and ArcGIS Pro in Kirkuk City, Iraq
Abstract
Urban environmental health depends heavily on air quality because it directly affects ecosystem sustainability, together with resident health outcomes. The rapid urbanization of Kirkuk in Iraq produces important air pollution problems, which stem from growing vehicle pollution combined with industrial sources and insufficient urban planning. The present paper aims to develop a Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based model. It’s a novel concept to develop advanced pollutant dispersion models by integrating air pollutants with meteorology and ArcGIS Pro analysis. The importance of this study is that it proposes the GIS-based Box Model to precisely forecast air pollution in fast-growing urban centers such as Kirkuk. It is used to support the concept of sustainable urban planning and can easily connect the air quality data to health scopes, and provides good validation accuracies based on the ground data that it uses. The evaluation based on health effects linked to poor air quality will be performed. The research utilized a spatial distribution map algorithm in ArcGIS Pro with Python programming syntax to process elevation data and weather elements and create predictions about pollution concentrations in affected territories. The study showed that the model produced sufficient results throughout the (80-90%) measurement range. The validation process used ground truth data that achieved measurements with a (90-93%) success. Two pollutants, PM2.5 and PM10, were used in model testing validation analysis; the estimated values by the model were compared with ground truth data. Measurements provided an excellent validation of model-calculated air quality measurements with their corresponding ground truth points, thus showing high potential for accurate air quality monitoring and prediction.
Keywords
References
- Mahmood, S., Ali, A., & Jumaah, H. J. (2024). Geo-visualizing the hotspots of smog-induced health effects in district Gujranwala, Pakistan: a community perspective. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 196(5), 457.
- Jamal Jumaah, H., Ghassan Abdo, H., Habeeb Hamed, H., Mohammed Obaid, H., Almohamad, H., Abdullah Al Dughairi, A., & Saleh Alzaaq, M. (2023). Assessment of corona virus (COVID-19) infection spread pattern in Iraq using GIS and RS techniques. Cogent Social Sciences, 9(2), 2282706.
- Manisalidis, I., Stavropoulou, E., Stavropoulos, A., & Bezirtzoglou, E. (2020). Environmental and health impacts of air pollution: a review. Frontiers in public health, 8, 14.
- Jumaah, H. J., Ameen, M. H., Kalantar, B., Rizeei, H. M., & Jumaah, S. J. (2019). Air quality index prediction using IDW geostatistical technique and OLS-based GIS technique in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, 10(1), 2185-2199.
- Jumaah, H. J., Ameen, M. H., Mahmood, S., & Jumaah, S. J. (2023). Study of air contamination in Iraq using remotely sensed Data and GIS. Geocarto International, 38(1), 2178518.
- Siddika, S., & Sresto, M. A. (2025). Assessing urban resilience of Khulna City in response to environmental and socioeconomic challenges. DYSONA-Applied Science, 6(1), 134-144.
- khalil Ibrahim, A., & Khidhir, A. M. (2023). Ozone and Nitrogen Dioxide Pollutants Detection System Based on IoT. NTU Journal of Engineering and Technology, 2(1).
- Hamed, H. H., Jumaah, H. J., Kalantar, B., Ueda, N., Saeidi, V., Mansor, S., & Khalaf, Z. A. (2021). Predicting PM2. 5 levels over the north of Iraq using regression analysis and geographical information system (GIS) techniques. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, 12(1), 1778-1796.
Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Geospatial Information Systems and Geospatial Data Modelling, Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in Planning
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Early Pub Date
August 25, 2025
Publication Date
October 1, 2025
Submission Date
May 31, 2025
Acceptance Date
July 5, 2025
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Volume: 11 Number: 1
APA
Jumaah, H., Valizadeh Kamran, K., Ghanbari, A., & Jeihouni, M. (2025). Development of GIS-based Box Model Tool for Air Quality Mapping with Python and ArcGIS Pro in Kirkuk City, Iraq. International Journal of Engineering and Geosciences, 11(1), 212-225. https://doi.org/10.26833/ijeg.1710723
AMA
1.Jumaah H, Valizadeh Kamran K, Ghanbari A, Jeihouni M. Development of GIS-based Box Model Tool for Air Quality Mapping with Python and ArcGIS Pro in Kirkuk City, Iraq. IJEG. 2025;11(1):212-225. doi:10.26833/ijeg.1710723
Chicago
Jumaah, Huda, Khalil Valizadeh Kamran, Abolfazl Ghanbari, and Mehrdad Jeihouni. 2025. “Development of GIS-Based Box Model Tool for Air Quality Mapping With Python and ArcGIS Pro in Kirkuk City, Iraq”. International Journal of Engineering and Geosciences 11 (1): 212-25. https://doi.org/10.26833/ijeg.1710723.
EndNote
Jumaah H, Valizadeh Kamran K, Ghanbari A, Jeihouni M (October 1, 2025) Development of GIS-based Box Model Tool for Air Quality Mapping with Python and ArcGIS Pro in Kirkuk City, Iraq. International Journal of Engineering and Geosciences 11 1 212–225.
IEEE
[1]H. Jumaah, K. Valizadeh Kamran, A. Ghanbari, and M. Jeihouni, “Development of GIS-based Box Model Tool for Air Quality Mapping with Python and ArcGIS Pro in Kirkuk City, Iraq”, IJEG, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 212–225, Oct. 2025, doi: 10.26833/ijeg.1710723.
ISNAD
Jumaah, Huda - Valizadeh Kamran, Khalil - Ghanbari, Abolfazl - Jeihouni, Mehrdad. “Development of GIS-Based Box Model Tool for Air Quality Mapping With Python and ArcGIS Pro in Kirkuk City, Iraq”. International Journal of Engineering and Geosciences 11/1 (October 1, 2025): 212-225. https://doi.org/10.26833/ijeg.1710723.
JAMA
1.Jumaah H, Valizadeh Kamran K, Ghanbari A, Jeihouni M. Development of GIS-based Box Model Tool for Air Quality Mapping with Python and ArcGIS Pro in Kirkuk City, Iraq. IJEG. 2025;11:212–225.
MLA
Jumaah, Huda, et al. “Development of GIS-Based Box Model Tool for Air Quality Mapping With Python and ArcGIS Pro in Kirkuk City, Iraq”. International Journal of Engineering and Geosciences, vol. 11, no. 1, Oct. 2025, pp. 212-25, doi:10.26833/ijeg.1710723.
Vancouver
1.Huda Jumaah, Khalil Valizadeh Kamran, Abolfazl Ghanbari, Mehrdad Jeihouni. Development of GIS-based Box Model Tool for Air Quality Mapping with Python and ArcGIS Pro in Kirkuk City, Iraq. IJEG. 2025 Oct. 1;11(1):212-25. doi:10.26833/ijeg.1710723
Cited By
Assessment of Traffic-Related Air Pollution in Kirkuk City, Iraq Using Python-Based AERMOD and GIS
Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research
https://doi.org/10.48084/etasr.16563