Drivers of High Concentration and Dispersal of PM10 and PM2.5 in the Eastern Part of Chhota Nagpur Plateau, India, Investigated Through HYSPLIT Model and Improvement of Environmental Health Quality

Abstract

The ambient air quality is continuously declining especially in emerging countries because of rapid rate of urbanization, industrialization, and allied activities. Thus, the principal objective of this research is to inspect the spatiotemporal variation of particulate matters and to identify the drivers of pollutant dispersal. The month-wise PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 data of 2022 and 2023 were obtained from the West Bengal Pollution Control Board. Meteorological datasets such as wind speed (m/s) and wind direction (degree) were collected from the NASA power access website. The HYSPLIT (Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) model was applied to identify the pollutant's trajectories. Results showed that Purulia station stood highest in case of absolute AQI 715 (23-1-2022 at 7 a.m.), PM_2.5 483.47 µg/m³ (23-1-2022 at 8 a.m.), and PM₁₀ 682.28 µg/m³ (23-1-2022 at 7 a.m.), respectively. During winter, the vertical expansion of particles was within the 100-m boundary layer while during summer, it dispersed vertically and crossed 2000 m above the ground surface due to the combined effect of atmospheric conditions such as wind speed, wind direction, air pressure, and temperature. Moreover, the industrial outputs of Jharkhand and West Bengal play a significant role in elevating the pollution level. Plantation of suitable pollution-resistant plants including Banyan (Ficus bengalensis), Mango (Mangifera indica), Peepul (Ficus religiosa), Guava (Psidium guajava), Kadam (Neolamarkia cadamba), Neem (Azadirachta indica) is a suitable management technique against pollution in this region.