scholarly journals A Comparative Study of Particulate Matter Between New Delhi, India and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia During the COVID-19 Lockdown Period

2022 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhupendra Pratap Singh ◽  
Gaber E. Eldesoky ◽  
Pramod Kumar ◽  
Prakash Chandra ◽  
Md Ataul Islam ◽  
...  

Novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), after being identified in late December 2019 in Wuhan city of China, spread very fast and has affected all the countries in the world. The impact of lockdowns on particulate matter during the lockdown period needs attention to explore the correlation between anthropogenic and natural emissions. The current study has demonstrated the changes in fine particulate matter PM2.5, PM10 and their effect on air quality during the lockdown. The air quality before the lockdown was low in New Delhi (India) and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), among major cities worldwide. The air quality of India is influenced by dust and sand from the desert and surrounding areas. Thus, the current study becomes important to analyse changes in the air quality of the Indian sub-continent as impacted by dust storms from long distances. The result indicated a significant reduction of PM2.5 and PM10 from 93.24 to 37.89 μg/m3 and from 176.55 to 98.87 μg/m3 during the lockdown period as compared to pre lockdown period, respectively. The study shows that average concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 have declined by -44% and -59% during the lockdown period in Delhi. The average value of median PM10 was calculated at 33.71 μg/m3 for Riyadh, which was lower than that value for New Delhi during the same period. The values of PM10 were different for pre and during the lockdown periods in Riyadh, indicating the considerable influence on air quality, especially the concentration of PM10, from both the natural (sand and dust storms) and the anthropogenic sources during the lockdown periods. However, relatively smaller gains in the improvement of air quality in Riyadh were correlated to the imposition of milder lockdown and the predominance of natural factors over the anthropogenic factors there. The Air Quality Index (AQI) data for Delhi showed the air quality to be ‘satisfactory’ and in the green category during the lockdown period. This study attempts to better understand the impact of particulate matter on the short- and long-term air quality in Delhi during the lockdown. This study has the scope of being scaled up nationwide, and this might be helpful in formulation air pollution reduction and sustainable management policies in the future.

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 1329-1333
Author(s):  
Miodrag Šmelcerović

The protection of the environment and people’s health from negative influences of the pollution of air as a medium of the environment requires constant observing of the air quality in accordance with international standards, the analysis of emission and imission of polluting matters in the air, and their connection with the sources of pollution. Having in mind the series of laws and delegated legislations which define the field of air pollution, it is necessary to closely observe these long-term processes, discovering cause-and-effect relationships between the activities of anthropogenic sources of emission of polluting matters and the level of air degradation. The relevant evaluation of the air quality of a certain area can be conducted if the level of concentration of polluting matters characteristic for the pollution sources of this area is observed in a longer period of time. The data obtained by the observation of the air pollution are the basis for creation of the recovery program of a certain area. Vranje is a town in South Serbia where there is a bigger number of anthropogenic pollution sources that can significantly diminish the air quality. The cause-and-effect relationship of the anthropogenic sources of pollution is conducted related to the analysis of systematized data which are in the relevant data base of the authorized institution The Institute of Public Health Vranje, for the time period between the year of 2012. and 2017. By the analysis of data of imission concentrations of typical polluting matters, the dominant polluting matters were determined on the territory of the town of Vranje, the ones that are the causers of the biggest air pollution and the risk for people’s health. Analysis of the concentration of soot, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides indicates their presence in the air of Vranje town area in concentrations that do not exceed the permitted limit values annually. The greatest pollution is caused by the soot content in the air, especially in the winter period when the highest number of days with the values above the limit was registered. By perceiving the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors, it is clear that the concentration of polluting matters can be decreased only by establishing control over anthropogenic sources of pollution, and thus it can be contributed to the improvement of the air quality of this urban environment.


MAUSAM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-118
Author(s):  
SUNIL KUMAR PESHIN ◽  
PRIYANKA SINHA ◽  
AMIT BISHT

Diwali is one of the major and most important festivals celebrated all over India which falls in the period late October to early November every year. It is associated with burning of firecrackers especially during the night of Diwali day that leads to degradation of air quality that lasts for a longer duration of time. Firecrackers on burning releases huge amount of trace gases such as NOx, CO, SO2 and O3 and huge amount of aerosols and particulate matter. The present study focuses on the influence of firecrackers  emissions on surface ozone(O3) ,oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5)concentration over the capital urban metropolis of India, New Delhi during Diwali festivity period from 2013-2015. A sharp increase is observed in surface ozone, NOx and particulate matter concentration during the Diwali day as compared to control day for 2013 to 2015 which is mainly attributed to burning of firecrackers. However the average concentration levels of the  gaseous pollutants and particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) on Diwali day exhibited a decline in 2015 and 2014 as compared to 2013 due to increase in  awareness campaigns among public and increased cost of firecrackers.  


2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (1&2) ◽  
pp. 113-119
Author(s):  
Anil K. Raina ◽  
Anita Sharma

The monitoring of ambient air quality of Katra (one of the important town of Jammu from economic as well as religious point of view), at selected locations of residential areas, commercial areas and traffic crossings with respect to particulate matter (both respirable and non-respirable) has been conducted for a period of two years i.e. July 2010 – June 2012. Large variations in ambient particulate matter concentrations have been observed throughout the study period. Seasonally, the particulate matter exhibited low values during monsoon period and high values during post-monsoon period. The concentration of particulates (both respirable and non-respirable) in post monsoon season exceeded the concentrations than that of other seasons at most of the sites, thereby signifying the impact of local factors on pollutant concentrations, besides the impact of meteorological factors. Higher concentrations have been recorded in the year 2011-2012 as compared to 2010-2011 at all the sites except traffic crossings.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-81
Author(s):  
Miodrag Šmelcerović

The protection of the environment and people’s health from negative influences of the pollution of air as a medium of the environment requires constant observing of the air quality in accordance with international standards, the analysis of emission and imission of polluting matters in the air, and their connection with the sources of pollution. Having in mind the series of laws and delegated legislations which define the field of air pollution, it is necessary to closely observe these long-term processes, discovering cause-and-effect relationships between the activities of anthropogenic sources of emission of polluting matters and the level of air degradation. The relevant evaluation of the air quality of a certain area can be conducted if the level of concentration of polluting matters characteristic for the pollution sources of this area is observed in a longer period of time. The data obtained by the observation of the air pollution are the basis for creation of the recovery program of a certain area. Leskovac is a town in South Serbia where there is a bigger number of anthropogenic pollution sources that can significantly diminish the air quality. The cause-and-effect relationship of the anthropogenic sources of pollution is conducted related to the analysis of systematized data which are in the relevant data base of the authorized institution The Institute of Public Health, for the time period between the year of 2012. and 2017. By the analysis of data of imission concentrations of typical polluting matters, the dominant polluting matters were determined on the territory of the town of Leskovac, the ones that are the causers of the biggest air pollution and the risk for people’s health. Analysis of the concentration of soot, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides indicates their presence in the air of Leskovac town area in concentrations that do not exceed the permitted limit values annually. The greatest pollution is caused by the soot content in the air, especially in the winter period when the highest number of days with the values above the limit was registered. By perceiving the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors, it is clear that the concentration of polluting matters can be decreased only by establishing control over anthropogenic sources of pollution, and thus it can be contributed to the improvement of the air quality of this urban environment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (24) ◽  
pp. 8864
Author(s):  
Afifa Aslam ◽  
Muhammad Ibrahim ◽  
Imran Shahid ◽  
Abid Mahmood ◽  
Muhammad Kashif Irshad ◽  
...  

The future megacity of Faisalabad is of prime interest when considering environmental health because of its bulky population and abundant industrial and anthropogenic sources of coarse particles (PM10) and fine airborne particulate matter (PM2.5). The current study was aimed to investigate the concentration level of PM2.5 and PM10, also the characterization of carbonaceous aerosols including organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC) and total carbon (TC) in PM2.5 and PM10 samples collected from five different sectors (residential, health, commercial, industrial, and vehicular zone). The data presented here are the first of their kind in this sprawling city having industries and agricultural activities side by side. Results of the study revealed that the mass concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 is at an elevated level throughout Faisalabad, with ambient PM2.5 and PM10 points that constantly exceeded the 24-h standards of US-EPA, and National Environment Quality Standards (NEQS) which poses harmful effects on the quality of air and health. The total carbon concentration varied between 21.33 and 206.84 μg/m3, and 26.08 and 211.15 μg/m3 with an average of 119.16 ± 64.91 μg/m3 and 124.71 ± 64.38 μg/m3 for PM2.5 in summer and winter seasons, respectively. For PM10, the concentration of TC varied from 34.52 to 289.21 μg/m3 with an average of 181.50 ± 87.38 μg/m3 (for summer season) and it ranged between 44.04 and 300.02 μg/m3 with an average of 191.04 ± 87.98 μg/m3 (winter season), respectively. No significant difference between particulate concentration and weather parameters was observed. Similarly, results of air quality index (AQI) and pollution index (PI) stated that the air quality of Faisalabad ranges from poor to severely pollute. In terms of AQI, moderate pollution was recorded on sampling sites in the following order; Ittehad Welfare Dispensary > Saleemi Chowk > Kashmir Road > Pepsi Factory, while at Nazria Pakistan Square and Allied Hospital, higher AQI values were recorded. The analysis and results presented in this study can be used by policy-makers to apply rigorous strategies that decrease air pollution and the associated health effects in Faisalabad.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-113
Author(s):  
Heitor Soares De Farias

A região metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro passa por um processo de expansão industrial, principalmente nos municípios da borda oeste como Itaguaí, Seropédica e Rio de Janeiro (Zona Oeste), área com intensa emissão de material particulado inalável da atividade industrial. Além disso, a diversidade de seu sítio faz com a dispersão de poluentes seja ineficiente nesta área conhecida como Bacia Aérea I. Assim, este trabalho analisou os dados de material particulado inalável de estações de qualidade do ar do INEA, localizadas na Bacia Aérea I, entre 2009 e 2014 para avaliar o impacto na qualidade do ar pelo funcionamento da Companhia Siderúrgica do Atlântico (CSA), a partir de 2010. Os resultados mostraram que estações próximas ao distrito industrial de Santa Cruz registraram aumento nas concentrações de partículas inaláveis após o início das atividades CSA, com violações nos padrões de qualidade do ar estabelecidos na Resolução Conama nº3 (BRASIL, 1990), principalmente ao sul dos empreendimentos, devido à direção dos ventos predominantes. Desta maneira conclui-se que a população do bairro de Santa Cruz, nas proximidades da estação Largo do Bodegão, estao em situação de risco à saúde devido aos déficits sociais presentes na região, à presença dos empreendimentos que deterioram a qualidade do ar e a falta de informação que alerte a população sobre os riscos. Palavras-chave: Material particulado inalável, CSA, Saúde.   Abstract The metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro goes through a process of industrial expansion, mainly in the municipalities of the western border such as Itaguaí, Seropédica and Rio de Janeiro (West Zone), an area with intense emission of inhalable particulate matter from industrial activity. In addition, the diversity of its site makes the dispersion of pollutants inefficient in this area known as the Air Basin I. Thus, this work analyzed the inhalable particulate data of INEA air quality stations, located in the Air Basin I, between 2009 and 2014 to evaluate the impact on air quality by the operation of Companhia Siderúrgica do Atlântico (CSA) from 2010. The results showed that stations near the industrial district of Santa Cruz registered an increase in the concentrations of inhalable particles after the beginning of CSA activities, with violations of air quality standards established in Conama Resolution No. 3 (BRAZIL, 1990), mainly to the south of the projects, due to the direction of prevailing winds. In this way it is concluded that the population of the neighborhood of Santa Cruz, near the station Largo do Bodegão, are in a situation of health risk due to the social deficits present in the region, to the presence of the enterprises that deteriorate the quality of the air and the lack information that alerts the population about the risks. Key words: Inhalable particulate matter, CSA, Health.  


Author(s):  
Khaled Alghamdi ◽  
Feras Aljohani ◽  
Ala Alrehaili ◽  
Ahmed Alhusayni ◽  
Turki Alrehaili ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (17) ◽  
pp. 11199-11212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Stojiljkovic ◽  
Mari Kauhaniemi ◽  
Jaakko Kukkonen ◽  
Kaarle Kupiainen ◽  
Ari Karppinen ◽  
...  

Abstract. We have numerically evaluated how effective selected potential measures would be for reducing the impact of road dust on ambient air particulate matter (PM10). The selected measures included a reduction of the use of studded tyres on light-duty vehicles and a reduction of the use of salt or sand for traction control. We have evaluated these measures for a street canyon located in central Helsinki for four years (2007–2009 and 2014). Air quality measurements were conducted in the street canyon for two years, 2009 and 2014. Two road dust emission models, NORTRIP (NOn-exhaust Road TRaffic Induced Particle emissions) and FORE (Forecasting Of Road dust Emissions), were applied in combination with the Operational Street Pollution Model (OSPM), a street canyon dispersion model, to compute the street increments of PM10 (i.e. the fraction of PM10 concentration originating from traffic emissions at the street level) within the street canyon. The predicted concentrations were compared with the air quality measurements. Both road dust emission models reproduced the seasonal variability of the PM10 concentrations fairly well but under-predicted the annual mean values. It was found that the largest reductions of concentrations could potentially be achieved by reducing the fraction of vehicles that use studded tyres. For instance, a 30 % decrease in the number of vehicles using studded tyres would result in an average decrease in the non-exhaust street increment of PM10 from 10 % to 22 %, depending on the model used and the year considered. Modelled contributions of traction sand and salt to the annual mean non-exhaust street increment of PM10 ranged from 4 % to 20 % for the traction sand and from 0.1 % to 4 % for the traction salt. The results presented here can be used to support the development of optimal strategies for reducing high springtime particulate matter concentrations originating from road dust.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Bozzetti ◽  
Imad El Haddad ◽  
Dalia Salameh ◽  
Kaspar Rudolf Daellenbach ◽  
Paola Fermo ◽  
...  

Abstract. We investigated the seasonal trends of OA sources affecting the air quality of Marseille (France) which is the largest harbor of the Mediterranean Sea. This was achieved by measurements of nebulized filter extracts using an aerosol mass spectrometer (offline-AMS). PM2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter


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