Appraisal of COVID-19 lockdown and unlocking effects on the air quality of North India

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.

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Reviewing the Crop Residual Burning and Aerosol Variations during the COVID-19 Pandemic Hit Year 2020 over North India

Pollutants ◽

10.3390/pollutants1030011 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 127-140

Author(s):

Manoj Hari ◽

Rajesh Kumar Sahu ◽

Bhishma Tyagi ◽

Ravikant Kaushik

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Agricultural Waste ◽

North India ◽

National Capital Region ◽

Industrial Emissions ◽

Indian States ◽

Back Trajectories ◽

In Situ Data ◽

National Capital ◽

Waste Burning

The north Indian states of Haryana and Punjab are believed to be the key sources of air pollution in the National Capital Region due to massive agricultural waste burning in crop harvesting seasons. However, with the pandemic COVID-19 hitting the country, the usual practices were disrupted. COVID-19 preventive lockdown led to restricted vehicular and industrial emissions and caused the labours to leave the agricultural business in Haryana and Punjab. With the changed scenario of 2020, the present study investigates the variations in air quality over the Haryana and Punjab, and their relative impact on the air quality of Delhi. The work attempts to understand the change in agricultural waste burning during 2020 and its implication on the local air quality over both the states and the transported pollution on the national capital Delhi. The study utilises in-situ data for the year 2019–2020 with satellite observations of MODIS aqua/terra for fire counts, aerosol optical depth (AOD) and back-trajectories run by the hybrid single-particle Lagrangian integrated trajectory model (HYSPLIT).

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Measurements of Local Sources of Particulates with a Portable Monitor along the Coast of an Insular City

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13010261 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 261

Author(s):

Christos Petsas ◽

Marinos Stylianou ◽

Antonis Zorpas ◽

Agapios Agapiou

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Significant Contribution ◽

Anthropogenic Activities ◽

Portable Monitor ◽

Traffic Jam ◽

Modern Cities ◽

Anthropogenic Processes ◽

The City ◽

Coastal Front

The air quality of modern cities is considered an important factor for the quality of life of humans and therefore is being safeguarded by various international organizations, concentrating on the mass concentration of particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10, 2.5 and 1 μm. However, the different physical and anthropogenic processes and activities within the city contribute to the rise of fine (<1 μm) and coarse (>1 μm) particles, directly impacting human health and the environment. In order to monitor certain natural and anthropogenic events, suspecting their significant contribution to PM concentrations, seven different events taking place on the coastal front of the city of Limassol (Cyprus) were on-site monitored using a portable PM instrument; these included both natural (e.g., dust event) and anthropogenic (e.g., cement factory, meat festival, tall building construction, tire factory, traffic jam, dust road) emissions taking place in spring and summer periods. The violations of the limits that were noticed were attributed mainly to the various anthropogenic activities taking place on-site, revealing once more the need for further research and continuous monitoring of air quality.

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Impact of crop residue burning in Haryana on the air quality of Delhi, India

Heliyon ◽

10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06973 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (5) ◽

pp. e06973

Author(s):

Pallavi Saxena ◽

Saurabh Sonwani ◽

Ananya Srivastava ◽

Madhavi Jain ◽

Anju Srivastava ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Crop Residue ◽

Crop Residue Burning

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Influence Of A Descentralized Ventilation System On The Indoor Air Quality Of A Primary School Classroom

IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science ◽

10.1088/1755-1315/664/1/012039 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 664 (1) ◽

pp. 012039

Author(s):

T Catalina ◽

C Lungu

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Primary School ◽

Indoor Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Ventilation System ◽

School Classroom

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Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Emitted from Coated Furniture Units

Coatings ◽

10.3390/coatings11070806 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 806

Author(s):

Ozge Cemiloglu Ulker ◽

Onur Ulker ◽

Salim Hiziroglu

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Volatile Organic Compounds ◽

Organic Compounds ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Exposure Period ◽

Point Of View ◽

Health Concerns ◽

Volatile Organic ◽

Significant Health

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are the main source influencing the overall air quality of an environment. It is a well-known fact that coated furniture units, in the form of paints and varnishes, emit VOCs, reducing the air quality and resulting in significant health problems. Exposure time to such compounds is also an important parameter regarding their possible health effects. Such issues also have a greater influence when the exposure period is extended. The main objective of this study was to review some of the important factors for the emission of VOCs from coated furniture, from the perspective of material characteristics, as well as health concerns. Some methods for controlling VOC emissions to improve indoor air quality, from the point of view recent regulations and suggestions, are also presented in this work.

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Assessment and distribution of water quality of Pandoh river basin (PRB), Himachal Pradesh, North India

Applied Water Science ◽

10.1007/s13201-021-01468-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

Author(s):

C. Prakasam ◽

R. Saravanan ◽

M. K. Sharma ◽

Varinder S. Kanwar

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Surface Water ◽

River Basin ◽

Geographical Information ◽

North India ◽

Total Hardness ◽

Drainage Pattern ◽

Study Region ◽

Northern India

AbstractAs the surface water in northern India is the main water resource for regional economic and also supply for drinking and irrigation purposes. However, deficiency of water quality leads to serious water pollution in the Pandoh river basin (PRB). Therefore, the main objective of the present study is to evaluate the quality of surface water. With this objective, surface water samples were collected from the PRB of northern India, and analyzed for pH, EC, turbidity, alkalinity, total dissolved solids, and total hardness. Moreover, geographical information system (GIS) tools were used to prepare the geology, drainage pattern, and location maps of the study region. Surface water quality observed from the PRB has an alkaline nature with a moderately hard type. Further studies are encouraged to better understand the water quality in northern India.

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Improving Indoor Air Quality by Using Sheep Wool Thermal Insulation

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma14092443 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (9) ◽

pp. 2443

Author(s):

Andreea Hegyi ◽

Cezar Bulacu ◽

Henriette Szilagyi ◽

Adrian-Victor Lăzărescu ◽

Vasile Meiţă ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Thermal Insulation ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Living Space ◽

Coefficient Of Thermal Conductivity ◽

Adequate Quality ◽

Risk Of Disease ◽

Efficiency Indicators ◽

Sheep Wool

Currently, the need to ensure adequate quality of air inside the living space but also the thermal efficiency of buildings is pressing. This paper presents the capacity of sheep wool heat-insulating mattresses to simultaneously provide these needs, cumulatively analyzing efficiency indicators for thermal insulation and indicators of improving air quality. Thus, the values obtained for the coefficient of thermal conductivity, and its resistance to heat transfer, demonstrate the suitability of their use for thermal insulation. The results of the permeability to water vapor characteristics on the sorption/desorption of water, air, demonstrate the ability to control the humidity of the indoor air and the results on the reduction of the concentration of formaldehyde, demonstrating their contribution to the growth of the quality of the air, and to reduce the risk of disease in the population.

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Impact of COVID-19 induced lockdown and unlock down phases on the ambient air quality of Delhi, capital city of India

Urban Climate ◽

10.1016/j.uclim.2021.100945 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 100945

Author(s):

Mayank Pandey ◽

M.P. George ◽

R.K. Gupta ◽

Deepak Gusain ◽

Atul Dwivedi

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Ambient Air ◽

Capital City ◽

Ambient Air Quality

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