Application of Photo Texture Analysis and Weather Data in Assessment of Air Quality in Terms of Airborne PM10 and PM2.5 Particulate Matter

Abstract

The study was undertaken in Krakow, which is situated in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, where bad PM10 air-quality indicators occurred on more than 100 days in the years 2010–2019. Krakow has continuous air quality measurement in seven locations that are run by the Province Environmental Protection Inspectorate. The research aimed to create regression and classification models for PM10 and PM2.5 estimation based on sky photos and basic weather data. For this research, one short video with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 px was captured each day. From each film, only five frames were used, the information from which was averaged. Then, texture analysis was performed on each averaged photo frame. The results of the texture analysis were used in the regression and classification models. The regression models’ quality for the test datasets equals 0.85 and 0.73 for PM10 and 0.63 for PM2.5. The quality of each classification model differs (0.86 and 0.73 for PM10, and 0.80 for PM2.5). The obtained results show that the created classification models could be used in PM10 and PM2.5 air quality assessment. Moreover, the character of the obtained regression models indicates that their quality could be enhanced; thus, improved results could be obtained.