Research Article

Development of Air Quality Index Tool Based on Python Script and Geographic Information Systems

Volume: 10 Number: 2 May 1, 2026

Development of Air Quality Index Tool Based on Python Script and Geographic Information Systems

Abstract

The issue of air pollution in urban settings continues to grow critical in multiple major urban centers and across the globe. Multiple cities experience the adverse health impacts of urban air pollution at present. Iraq recognizes Kirkuk city to be its leading hub for petroleum production. Numerous environmental pollution increases have occurred simultaneously with the recent soaring development of this city. The research conducted measurements on major pollutants, including SO2, NO2, CO, and PM2.5, PM10, within Kirkuk city. For this research period (September 2023 to February 2024), the studied area incorporated 25 sampling sites where their specific locations were pinpointed using Global Positioning System (GPS). Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with different sensors were used for data collection, besides ground stations. As well as the wind speed at each point was measured. Air pollution distribution patterns across Kirkuk city were displayed using Geographic Information System (GIS). Two models were developed using Python coding integrated with ArcGIS Pro based on a trained dataset. The measurement months for Kirkuk city's Air Quality Index (AQI) included six months during which five main pollutants were used for calculations by the Air Box Model and AQI Model. The Inverse Distance Weighted IDW interpolation process was used to extract the tested data from the ground truth dataset. Health evaluation maps in Kirkuk city were determined as unhealthy air quality based on the validated average AQI (101–200). The calculated data of AQI was validated by the tested data obtained from ground stations. High accuracies were obtained by the validation process (about 90%–93%). The developed tools identify the pollutant concentrations in Kirkuk City in a high-resolution distribution pattern.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

No

Ethical Statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Thanks

The study was supported by remotely sensed images of the Aqua/ARIS satellite gained from the NASA Worldview application. Moreover, historical daily AQI gained from Air Matters was also supported this study. The study is part of Huda J. Jumaah's Ph.D. thesis.

References

  1. Kaplan, G., & Avdan, Z. Y. (2020). Space-borne air pollution observation from sentinel-5p tropomi: Relationship between pollutants, geographical and demographic data. International Journal of Engineering and Geosciences, 5(3), 130-137.
  2. Kotan, B., & Erener, A. (2022). Seasonal analysis and mapping of air pollution (PM10 and SO2) during Covid-19 lockdown in Kocaeli (Türkiye). International Journal of Engineering and Geosciences, 8(2), 173-187.
  3. Mohamed, H., Hassan, A., & Elhag, A. (2025). A five-year Study Using Sentinel-5P Data Observing Seasonal Dynamics and Long-term Trends of Atmospheric Pollutants. International Journal of Engineering and Geosciences, 10(2), 262-271.
  4. Salih, A. S., & Hassan, N. D. (2023). The Impact of Urban Trees on Air Pollution in Kirkuk City: A Gaussian Dispersion Model Approach. NTU Journal of Engineering and Technology, 2(4).
  5. 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).
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Jumaah, H. J., Mansor, S., Pradhan, B., & Adam, S. N. (2018). UAV-Based PM2. 5 Monitoring for Small-Scale Urban Areas. International Journal of Geoinformatics, 14(4).

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Air Pollution Modelling and Control, Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in Planning

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

May 1, 2026

Submission Date

July 30, 2025

Acceptance Date

April 30, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 10 Number: 2

APA
Jumaah, H., Valizadeh Kamran, K., Ghanbari, A., & Jeihouni, M. (2026). Development of Air Quality Index Tool Based on Python Script and Geographic Information Systems. Turkish Journal of Engineering, 10(2), 427-435. https://doi.org/10.31127/tuje.1753853
AMA
1.Jumaah H, Valizadeh Kamran K, Ghanbari A, Jeihouni M. Development of Air Quality Index Tool Based on Python Script and Geographic Information Systems. TUJE. 2026;10(2):427-435. doi:10.31127/tuje.1753853
Chicago
Jumaah, Huda, Khalil Valizadeh Kamran, Abolfazl Ghanbari, and Mehrdad Jeihouni. 2026. “Development of Air Quality Index Tool Based on Python Script and Geographic Information Systems”. Turkish Journal of Engineering 10 (2): 427-35. https://doi.org/10.31127/tuje.1753853.
EndNote
Jumaah H, Valizadeh Kamran K, Ghanbari A, Jeihouni M (May 1, 2026) Development of Air Quality Index Tool Based on Python Script and Geographic Information Systems. Turkish Journal of Engineering 10 2 427–435.
IEEE
[1]H. Jumaah, K. Valizadeh Kamran, A. Ghanbari, and M. Jeihouni, “Development of Air Quality Index Tool Based on Python Script and Geographic Information Systems”, TUJE, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 427–435, May 2026, doi: 10.31127/tuje.1753853.
ISNAD
Jumaah, Huda - Valizadeh Kamran, Khalil - Ghanbari, Abolfazl - Jeihouni, Mehrdad. “Development of Air Quality Index Tool Based on Python Script and Geographic Information Systems”. Turkish Journal of Engineering 10/2 (May 1, 2026): 427-435. https://doi.org/10.31127/tuje.1753853.
JAMA
1.Jumaah H, Valizadeh Kamran K, Ghanbari A, Jeihouni M. Development of Air Quality Index Tool Based on Python Script and Geographic Information Systems. TUJE. 2026;10:427–435.
MLA
Jumaah, Huda, et al. “Development of Air Quality Index Tool Based on Python Script and Geographic Information Systems”. Turkish Journal of Engineering, vol. 10, no. 2, May 2026, pp. 427-35, doi:10.31127/tuje.1753853.
Vancouver
1.Huda Jumaah, Khalil Valizadeh Kamran, Abolfazl Ghanbari, Mehrdad Jeihouni. Development of Air Quality Index Tool Based on Python Script and Geographic Information Systems. TUJE. 2026 May 1;10(2):427-35. doi:10.31127/tuje.1753853
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