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Assessment of spatiotemporal variability of ultraviolet index (UVI) over Kerala, India, using satellite remote sensing (OMI/AURA) data

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Abstract

The spatial and temporal dynamics of daily ultraviolet index (UVI) for a period of 18 years (2004–2022) over the Indian state of Kerala were statistically characterised in the study. The UVI measurements used for the study were derived from the ultraviolet-B (UVB) irradiance measured by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) of the AURA satellite and classified into different severity levels for analysis. Basic statistics of daily, monthly and seasonal UVI as well as Mann-Kendall (MK) statistical trend characteristics and the rate of change of daily UVI using Theil-Sen’s slope test were also evaluated. A higher variability of UVI characteristics was observed in the Kerala region, and more than 79% of the measurements fell into the categories of very high and extreme UVI values, which suggests the need of implementation of appropriate measures to reduce health risks. Although the UVI measured during the study period shows a slight decrease, most of the data show a seasonal variation with undulating low and peak values. Higher UVI are observed during the months of March, April and September. The region also has higher UVI during the southwest monsoon (SWM) and summer seasons. Although Kerala region as a single whole unit, UVI show a non-significant decreasing trend (-0.83), the MK test revealed the increasing and decreasing trends of UVI ranging from -1.96 to 0.41 facilitated the delineation of areas (domains) where UVI are increasing or decreasing. The domain of UVI increase occupies the central and southern (S) parts, and the domains of decrease cover the northern (N) and S parts of the Kerala region. The rate of change of daily UVI in domain of increase and decrease shows an average rate of 0.34 × 10−5 day−1 and −2 × 10−5 day−1, respectively. The parameters (rainfall, air temperature, cloud optical depth (COD) and solar zenith angle (SZA)) that affect the strength of UV rays reaching the surface indicate that a cloud-free atmosphere or low thickness clouds prevails in the Kerala region. Overall, the study results indicate the need for regular monitoring of UVI in the study area and also suggest appropriate campaigns to disseminate information and precautions for prolonged UVI exposure to reduce the adverse health effects, since the study area has a high population density.

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Data availability

All the datasets used in this research are collected from open source. UV index data of OMI/AURA (1° × 1°) was collected from NASA’s Earth Data portal GES DISC.

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Acknowledgements

First author, Ninu Krishnan Modon Valappil is a researcher of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) under the Post-Doctoral Fellowship Scheme for the project: Q.J130000.21A2.06E28, would like to express sincere gratitude to the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) for the support during the preparation of the manuscript. The authors express their gratitude to the anonymous reviewer and editors for their insightful comments and constructive suggestions. Additionally, the authors extend their appreciation to NASA’s Earth Data portal GES DISC, the Directorate of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Kerala, and National Health Mission, Kerala, for providing the essential data required for the research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geoscience and Digital Earth Centre (INSTeG), Research Institute for Sustainable Environment, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia

    Ninu Krishnan Modon Valappil

  2. Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695033, India

    Pratheesh Chacko Mammen & Vijith Hamza

  3. Laboratory of Applied Meteorology and Environment (LAMMA), Institute of Atmospheric Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Lourival Melo Mota Avenue, S/N, CEP, Tabuleiro dos Martins, Maceio, Alagoas, 57072-970, Brazil

    José Francisco de Oliveira-Júnior & Kelvy Rosalvo Alencar Cardoso

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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by NKMV, VH, and KRAC. The first draft of the manuscript was written by NKMV and PCM. JFdO-Jr, KRAC, and VH commented on previous versions of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Vijith Hamza.

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Valappil, N.K.M., Mammen, P.C., de Oliveira-Júnior, J.F. et al. Assessment of spatiotemporal variability of ultraviolet index (UVI) over Kerala, India, using satellite remote sensing (OMI/AURA) data. Environ Monit Assess 196, 106 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-12239-w

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