{"title":"The Great Smog Month and Spatial and Monthly Variation in Air Quality in Ambient Air in Delhi, India.","authors":"Anchal Garg, N C Gupta","doi":"10.5696/2156-9614-10.27.200910","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In recent years, poor urban air quality in Delhi, India has gained significant attention. Episodic events including crop stubble burning and Diwali celebrations are considered major factors in the worsening quality of ambient air.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to investigate spatial and monthly variation as well as the role of episodic events in ambient air quality in Delhi, including the 'Great Smog' month of November 2017.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Monitoring of air pollutants (particulate matter (PM<sub>10</sub>, PM<sub>2.5</sub>, PM<sub>1</sub>) and nitrogen dioxide (NO<sub>2</sub>)) was carried out at three distinct locations of Delhi from April 2017-February 2018. The concentration of NO<sub>2</sub> was measured using a modified Jacob and Hochheiser method and PM was measured using a GRIMM aerosol spectrometer. Air quality index was also determined to identify the effects of air pollution on human health.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Overall, the levels of air pollution were found to be approximately 2.1-3.2 times higher along a traffic intersection and about 1.4-2.0 times higher in a commercial area compared with an institutional area. The highest average monthly concentrations of PM<sub>10</sub>, PM<sub>2.5</sub>, PM<sub>1</sub> and NO<sub>2</sub> were 768, 374, 298 and 149 μg/m<sub>3</sub>, respectively, during the Great Smog month of November 2017. November and August were recorded as the most polluted and cleanest months, respectively, in the city. Generally, poor to severe categories of the air quality index (AQI) were obtained from October to February. Higher concentrations during November were attributed to stubble burning in the nearby states of Delhi with the additive effect of fireworks during Diwali celebrations.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Severe ambient air quality as observed in the present study is a serious matter of concern for the health of Delhi's population. To control spikes in poor air quality during episodic events, it is imperative to raise awareness among farmers regarding the severe health hazards of stubble burning.</p><p><strong>Competing interests: </strong>The authors declare no competing financial interests.</p>","PeriodicalId":52138,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health and Pollution","volume":"10 27","pages":"200910"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4000,"publicationDate":"2020-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7453814/pdf/","citationCount":"15","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Health and Pollution","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.5696/2156-9614-10.27.200910","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2020/9/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"Medicine","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 15
Abstract
Background: In recent years, poor urban air quality in Delhi, India has gained significant attention. Episodic events including crop stubble burning and Diwali celebrations are considered major factors in the worsening quality of ambient air.
Objective: This study aimed to investigate spatial and monthly variation as well as the role of episodic events in ambient air quality in Delhi, including the 'Great Smog' month of November 2017.
Methods: Monitoring of air pollutants (particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5, PM1) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)) was carried out at three distinct locations of Delhi from April 2017-February 2018. The concentration of NO2 was measured using a modified Jacob and Hochheiser method and PM was measured using a GRIMM aerosol spectrometer. Air quality index was also determined to identify the effects of air pollution on human health.
Results: Overall, the levels of air pollution were found to be approximately 2.1-3.2 times higher along a traffic intersection and about 1.4-2.0 times higher in a commercial area compared with an institutional area. The highest average monthly concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, PM1 and NO2 were 768, 374, 298 and 149 μg/m3, respectively, during the Great Smog month of November 2017. November and August were recorded as the most polluted and cleanest months, respectively, in the city. Generally, poor to severe categories of the air quality index (AQI) were obtained from October to February. Higher concentrations during November were attributed to stubble burning in the nearby states of Delhi with the additive effect of fireworks during Diwali celebrations.
Conclusions: Severe ambient air quality as observed in the present study is a serious matter of concern for the health of Delhi's population. To control spikes in poor air quality during episodic events, it is imperative to raise awareness among farmers regarding the severe health hazards of stubble burning.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing financial interests.
期刊介绍：
The Journal of Health and Pollution (JH&P) was initiated with funding from the European Union and World Bank and continues to be a Platinum Open Access Journal. There are no publication or viewing charges. That is, there are no charges to readers or authors. Upon peer-review and acceptance, all articles are made available online. The high-ranking editorial board is comprised of active members who participate in JH&P submissions and editorial policies. The Journal of Health and Pollution welcomes manuscripts based on original research as well as findings from re-interpretation and examination of existing data. JH&P focuses on point source pollution, related health impacts, environmental control and remediation technology. JH&P also has an interest in ambient and indoor pollution. Pollutants of particular interest include heavy metals, pesticides, radionuclides, dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), air particulates (PM10 and PM2.5), and other severe and persistent toxins. JH&P emphasizes work relating directly to low and middle-income countries, however relevant work relating to high-income countries will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
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