Background: Khuzestan province is one of the largest industrial provinces in Iran, with high air pollution. One of the main air pollutants is nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) in the atmosphere, which is linked to several epidemiological and environmental effects. Thus, spatial and temporal monitoring of NO₂ is crucial for land managers. So, the aim of this study was the spatiotemporal evaluation of NO₂ in Khuzestan Province, Iran, using Sentinel 5 (TROPOMI).
Methods: Initially, the amount of tropospheric NO₂ concentration was estimated in each month. In the next step, using ArcMap software, the monthly average of tropospheric NO₂ was extracted from 12 months. Moreover, the location of 100 important air pollutant industries in the Khuzestan Province was extracted using Google Earth image. Thus, using the monthly average NO₂ concentrations and the location of the cities and industries, the monthly average pollution of this pollutant was extracted for the cities and industries. Finally, the cities and industries of air pollution in Khuzestan Province were prioritized based on of tropospheric NO₂ concentration.
Findings: The maximum concentrations of this gas was in Bavi, Ahvaz, Abadan, and Mahshahr cities; and respectively, this gas had the lowest values of NO₂ in Izeh, Lali, and Baghmalek cities. Moreover, in the cold months of the year, Khorramshahr and Mahshahr had higher concentrations of NO₂ in comparison to the warm months of the year. The results of the spatial analysis revealed that the highest concentration of NO₂ was in the Farabi Petrochemical Company, Khuzestan Steel Company, Ghadir, and Razi Petrochemicals, respectively.
Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, it can be deduced the influence of local emission sources of NO₂ in Khuzestan Province is related to population density, high traffic of motor vehicles, and industrial activities.