Personal exposures to heat and PM2.5 in urban environments
Abstract
Current methods for assessing exposure to extreme heat and air pollution depend mostly on readings from regulatory monitoring stations. We hypothesize that this does not accurately represent the different conditions people encounter in various microenvironments. This study integrates distributed outdoor networks, indoor monitors, and wearable personal devices to characterize exposures to heat and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) experienced by residents of low-income public housing in Elizabeth, New Jersey. We apply exceedance-based metrics to measure both the intensity and duration of exposures across different participant groups (youth, seniors, staff working for the housing authority and researchers). The results show clear heterogeneity: Seniors face the highest PM2.5 exposures, and youth show widely varying and often higher thermal exposures. Comparisons of wearable devices and local monitors with regulatory monitors show congruent thermal conditions but high local variation in PM2.5 values. These findings highlight major discrepancies between existing design assumptions and actual living conditions. The study concludes that HVAC engineering efforts, urban design methods, and public health measures should be guided by personal monitoring data to tackle differences in risk. Future research should connect personal sensor data with health outcomes and consider the combined health effects of extreme heat and air pollution..
Citation
Yousaf Shahid, Zarak Khan, Abigail Andrews, Ge Gao, Jie Gong, Holly Josephs, Sunyoung Kim, Yitong Li, Vijay Maddila, Gediminas Mainelis, Jenna Myers, Deborah Plotnik, Carmen Rosario, Jennifer Senick, Phaneendra Sivangula and Clinton J. Andrews(2026). Personal exposures to heat and PM2.5 in urban environments. Science and Technology for the Built Environment, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/23744731.2026.2666491