Status of Industrial Complex Activity Explained by Air Quality: Central Thailand

Resilience in business continuity of an entire industrial complex has direct local socioeconomic impact; however, there are few methods available for objective assessment of its status. This study investigated whether change in air quality could explain the state of economic activity in an industrial complex. Concentrations of PM2.5 and NO 2 above several industrial complexes in central Thailand were extracted using the Google Earth Engine™ and analyzed to examine their temporal characteristics in relation to decline in business activity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Results confirmed that industrial complexes whose activities were diminished by the pandemic showed concurrent trends of reduction in each pollutant, proving that the concentration of airborne substances has potential to reveal the level of activity of industrial complexes. To enhance the application potential of the proposed method, further study should investigate specific causal inferences by extracting the characteristics of other airborne substances, and consider industrial complexes that include a greater number of companies and major industries.