Air quality prediction using boosting-based machine learning models for sustainable environment

Abstract

High levels of air pollution are extremely harmful to humans and the environment. They increase the risk of respiratory infections and lung cancer, especially among vulnerable populations. Therefore, developing effective pollution control measures is crucial for mitigating these negative impacts. We need to implement effective methods to predict and manage air quality for the sake of public health and a healthier environment. In recent years, machine learning (ML) methods have been increasingly utilized in air quality prediction due to their ability to analyze datasets and identify complex patterns. However, the reliability and accuracy of air quality prediction models remain a challenge. This study proposes a boosting-based ML model for predicting air quality. We implemented three stages in the proposed method. In the first stage, we conducted data preprocessing and analysis to eliminate noise, remove redundant data, and encode categorical features. In the second stage, we predicted air quality categories by leveraging 25 ML models, dividing them into three distinct categories. The results show that the extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), light gradient boosting machine (LGBM), and adaptive boosting (AdaBoost) models outperform the others in air quality prediction, achieving an accuracy of 99%. Finally, we compared these three models using 10-fold cross validation to ensure they generalize well in last stage.