Evaluation of Ambient Air Quality Levels at Various Locations within Lead City University, Ibadan

Abstract

Universities are big metropolitan institutions with sizable populations of students, employees, and visitors. However, university settings can contribute to air pollution, with diverse activities such as lab work, cooking in dorms, and vehicle traffic, among others, causing interior and ambient air pollution. It is impossible to overestimate how much air pollution affects the health and happiness of students. Based on this, evaluation of ambient air quality (i.e., temperature, relative humidity (RH), CO2, and particulate matter (PM2.5)) at various locations within Lead City University, Ibadan, is essential. Ambient concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), relative humidity (RH), temperature (TEMP), and particulate matter (PM) were recorded from 15 locations across Lead City University over a two-week period. Morning temperatures in all the locations measured ranged from 23.7°C to 29.2°C, while afternoon temperatures fluctuated more significantly, with the lowest recorded at 27.2°C and the highest at a notably warmer 35.8°C in all the locations measured.  The morning RH levels ranged from 63.8% to 74.7%, while afternoon RH values ranged from 58.2% to 63.4%. The findings also show that afternoon CO2 levels range from 468.5 ppm to 971.6 ppm, with Location 13 having an unusually high average. Morning CO levels ranged from 4.1 µg/m³ to 49 µg/m³, with location 13 showing an outlier at 184.2 µg/m³. CO2 and CO levels are mostly within acceptable ranges.  Conclusively, variability in these parameters has implications for human health; therefore, adequate ventilation and pollution control measures are thereby recommended for the university management in order to improve indoor air quality.