The correlation of changing levels of Aerosol Optical Depth and annual tuberculosis incidences in Kenya

Abstract

Aerosol Optical Depth, or AOD is a measurement of how much direct sunlight is blocked from reaching the ground, due to blockage by aerosols. Aerosol is a suspension of microscopic particles in gas. The AOD can be used as an indicator as to the pollution level, with higher AOD values indicating higher pollution levels and vice versa. Due to climate change, public health issues have arisen, one major disease that can be aggravated by air pollution is Tuberculosis. Gases such as Nitrogen Dioxide, Sulfur Dioxide, Carbon, Ozone, and many more can easily increase the severity of incidence and mortality of Tuberculosis. The goal of this project is to analyze and understand the relationship between AOD and the incidence of Tuberculosis in Kenya, a country in the East Africa, using Google Earth Engine based on the AOD data products from MODIS measurements onboard the Terra and Aqua satellites , and the World Bank annual incidence database for incidence of Tuberculosis for the period from 01-01-2001 to 12-31-2020. The analytical results show that there is an almost minute increase in AOD, however Tuberculosis cases number declines over the study period.