Geospatial Analysis of Emissions and Air Pollution: A Case Study focusing on Dhaka University Campus, Bangladesh

Abstract

Urban university campuses are becoming hotspots of environmental stress due to high energy use, dense infrastructure, and increased traffic flow. This study focuses on the Dhaka University campus to check the status of greenhouse gas emissions and air quality. These are done by integrated analyses of field data, remote sensing, and OpenStreetMap (OSM) data. In this aspect, OSM building and roads were overlaid as vector data on the raster and flow maps. Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Land Use Land cover (LULC) were mapped by Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) using Google Earth Engine. Air quality (such as CH₄, CO₂, SO₂, NO₂, PM2.5, and PM10) using the AeroQual Series 500, vehicle counts, and electricity consumption data were all recorded during field surveys. The survey areas of the Dhaka University campus focus on the Institute of Education and Research, Mokarram Hossain Building, MBA Building, Central Library, Nilkhet Residential Quarters, Rokeya Hall, Jagannath Hall, and Residential Halls at Curzon, considered as the hotspots identified by the calculation and map representation of electricity consumption and vehicle flow data. The results indicated that high PM2.5 (AQI: 149) with hotspots are located near Raju Memorial and Doel Chattar. This concentration is well correlated with the existing infrastructure and heavy traffic. The results also significantly identified the microclimatic effect in the specific area, was demonstrated by the positive correlation between Land Surface Temperature (LST) and GHG emissions. Overall, the study shows a replicable data-driven model for climate-responsive campus planning for maintaining urban sustainability in the Global South despite some limitations.

The Dhaka University Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vol. 15(1), 2026, P 123-137