New Mexico PM2.5 concentrations by ZIP code for 4 smoke exposure estimates
Data files
May 28, 2025 version files 7.72 MB
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CMAQ1hourMAX.csv
1.01 MB
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CMAQ24hourAVG.csv
1.01 MB
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Heat_index.csv
797.82 KB
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README.md
5.32 KB
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Regulatory_PA.csv
2.41 MB
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Regulatoryonly.csv
2.49 MB
Abstract
This repository contains daily ZIP code-level data for four wildfire smoke PM2.5 exposure estimates and daily heat index used in our epidemiological analysis of cardiorespiratory emergency department visits in New Mexico during the 2022 wildfire season. The smoke exposure datasets include (1) a regulatory-only product, (2) a regulatory + PurpleAir kriged product, (3) the NOAA HMS smoke plume–masked product, and (4) a CMAQ-modeled product with bias correction. Heat index values were derived from gridded meteorological data and aggregated to ZIP codes. These datasets support investigations of how exposure measurement choices influence health effect estimates in wildfire smoke research.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.gb5mkkx2f
Description of the data and file structure
We include five datasets in this repository:
- Regulatory-only: Daily smoke PM2.5 was estimated using ordinary kriging of EPA and IMPROVE monitor data. To attribute PM2.5 to smoke, we use the presence of the NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke plumes over the grid cell. Seasonal background concentrations are removed.
- Regulatory + PurpleAir: We added quality-controlled PurpleAir sensor data to the Regulatory-only product, applied a US EPA wildfire correction factor, and kriged measurements to a 0.1° grid. Smoke days were defined by buffered HMS plumes, and seasonal background levels were removed.
- Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) 24-hour average and 1-hour maximum: Smoke PM₂.₅ estimates were provided from a bias-corrected CMAQ simulation of six major wildfires in New Mexico from April 6 – August 22, 2022 (Maji et al., 2024), including 24-hour mean and 1-hour max concentrations.
- Heat Index: Daily ZIP code–level heat index values were calculated from 4 km PRISM temperature and humidity data.
All estimates were population-weighted using NASA SEDAC GPWv4 data.
Files and variables
File: CMAQ1hourMAX.csv
Description: 1-hour maximum smoke PM2.5 estimates from the Community Multiscale Air Quality model for New Mexico 2022 by ZIP code.
Variables
- Date: Date the 1-hour maximum smoke PM2.5 is simulated for. The format is: 'mm/dd/yy.' The estimates begin on April 6, 2022 and end August 22, 2022, which is when the Calf Canyon/Hermit's Peak fire occurred.
- All following rows (e.g., 87104, 87109, 87825, etc.) are ZIP codes in New Mexico to which the smoke PM2.5 estimate corresponds with. The estimates are provided in micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m^3).
File: CMAQ24hourAVG.csv
Description: 24-hour average smoke PM2.5 estimates from the Community Multiscale Air Quality model for New Mexico 2022 by ZIP code.
Variables
- Date: Date the 24-hour average smoke PM2.5 is simulated for. The format is: 'mm/dd/yy.' The estimates begin on April 6, 2022 and end August 22, 2022, which is when the Calf Canyon/Hermit's Peak fire occurred.
- All following rows (e.g., 87104, 87109, 87825, etc.) are ZIP codes in New Mexico to which the smoke PM2.5 estimate corresponds with. The estimates are provided in micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m^3).
File: Regulatory_PA.csv
Description: Daily smoke PM2.5 estimates using regulatory monitors from the US EPA and low-cost PurpleAir sensors for New Mexico 2022 by ZIP code.
Variables
- Date: Date the daily smoke PM2.5 is estimated for. The format is: 'mm/dd/yy.' The estimates begin on January 1, 2022 and end December 31, 2022.
- All following rows (e.g., 87104, 87109, 87825, etc.) are ZIP codes in New Mexico to which the smoke PM2.5 estimate corresponds with. The estimates are provided in micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m^3).
File: Regulatoryonly.csv
Description: Daily smoke PM2.5 estimates using regulatory monitors from the US EPA for New Mexico 2022 by ZIP code.
Variables
- Date: Date the daily smoke PM2.5 is estimated for. The format is: 'mm/dd/yy.' The estimates begin on January 1, 2022 and end December 31, 2022.
- All following rows (e.g., 87104, 87109, 87825, etc.) are ZIP codes in New Mexico to which the smoke PM2.5 estimate corresponds with. The estimates are provided in micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m^3).
File: Heat_index.csv
Description:
Variables
- zipcode: ZIP codes in New Mexico
- All following rows (e.g.,'1/1/22,' '1/2/22,' '1/3/22,' etc.) are dates with which the smoke PM2.5 estimate corresponds with. The format of the dates is 'mm/dd/yy.' The estimates are provided in micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m^3). Dates range from January 1 - December 31, 2022
Code/software
There is not specific code or software needed to use the data. However, we created a GitHub with all Python and R scripts written for our analysis (https://github.com/oliviasablan/New_Mexico_Wildfire).
Access information
Data was derived from the following sources:
- The EPA regulatory PM2.5 data is publicly available and can be downloaded from https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html
- The PurpleAir data from public monitors can be accessed through the PurpleAir API, and the details can be found here: https://community.purpleair.com/t/making-api-calls-with-the-purpleair-api/180
- The NOAA/NEDIS Hazard Mapping System Smoke Product is available at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration here: https://satepsanone.nesdis.noaa.gov/pub/FIRE/web/HMS/Smoke_Polygons/Shapefile/2022/
- More information on running CMAQ can be found here: https://www.epa.gov/cmaq
- Data used to calculate heat index can be accessed here: https://prism.oregonstate.edu/