Severe haze events in the Indo-Gangetic Plain during post-monsoon: Synergetic effect of synoptic meteorology and crop residue burning emission

The study examines reasons for the burning of crop residue, awareness of the impact of the burning of crop residue, and government approaches to mitigating the burning. Data from 180 farmers from three districts of the state of Haryana was sought. Rank Based Quotient method was used to identify reasons. At the same time, awareness was assessed by direct questioning. The study concludes that the short window time between paddy harvesting and showing wheat was a primary reason for stubble burning. Research also shows that harvesting is expensive and time-consuming, causing farmers to burn. Most farmers were aware of the various adverse effects of burning on soil health (73.89%), air health (100%), and human health (81.66%). Everybody was aware of the ban on crop residue burning and other government measures, but they have no other viable options other than burning. Policymakers, therefore, must focus on feasible options that are acceptable in farmers' socio-economic conditions.

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Investigating the Problem of Crop Residue Burning in an Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP)—An Emerging Concern to Air Quality

Management of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC) in Environment ◽

10.1016/b978-0-12-822263-8.00015-4 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 395-414

Author(s):

Pallavi Saxena ◽

Ananya Srivastava ◽

Shweta ◽

Deepali Rangra ◽

Nancy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Crop Residue ◽

Gangetic Plain ◽

Crop Residue Burning ◽

Indo Gangetic Plain

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The impact of crop residue burning (CRB) on the diurnal and seasonal variability of the ozone and PM levels at a semi-urban site in the north-western Indo-Gangetic plain

Journal of Earth System Science ◽

10.1007/s12040-019-1164-z ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 128 (6) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Madhvi Rana ◽

Susheel K Mittal ◽

Gufran Beig ◽

Prashant Rana

Keyword(s):

Seasonal Variability ◽

Crop Residue ◽

Urban Site ◽

Gangetic Plain ◽

The North ◽

Crop Residue Burning ◽

The Impact ◽

Indo Gangetic Plain ◽

North Western

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Transport of aerosols and trace gases during dust and crop-residue burning events in Indo-Gangetic Plain: Influence on surface ozone levels over downwind region

Atmospheric Environment ◽

10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.117829 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 241 ◽

pp. 117829

Author(s):

Sonal Kumari ◽

Anita Lakhani ◽

K. Maharaj Kumari

Keyword(s):

Crop Residue ◽

Trace Gases ◽

Surface Ozone ◽

Gangetic Plain ◽

Crop Residue Burning ◽

Indo Gangetic Plain ◽

Ozone Levels

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Aerosol acidity and its neutralization in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain: implications for water-soluble organic carbon

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-717 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Bijay Sharma ◽

Anuraag J. Polana ◽

Prashant Rawat ◽

Sayantan Sarkar

Keyword(s):

Receptor Site ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Dual Function ◽

Gangetic Plain ◽

Desert Dust ◽

Post Monsoon ◽

Aerosol Acidity ◽

Water Soluble Organic Carbon ◽

Soluble Organic Carbon ◽

Indo Gangetic Plain

Aerosol acidity plays an important role in influencing precipitation pH, which has impacts on the environment as well as human health. It also has significance in shaping aerosol chemistry, including the catalytic formation of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), which in turn affects the hygroscopicity of aerosols. Past studies on aerosol acidity in the Indian subcontinent, mostly conducted in biomass burning (BB) source regions in the northwestern and central Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) and in western India, have identified Ca2+ and Mg2+ sourced from desert dust to be the predominant neutralizing agents. However, the prevalence of desert dust decreases progressively along the IGP corridor and is potentially rendered insignificant in the eastern IGP (eIGP). As such, there exists a critical weakness in our understanding of the processes governing aerosol acidity and its neutralization in the eIGP. To address this, the present study reports the seasonal variability of ionic species, WSOC and associated aerosol acidity in ambient PM2.5 from a rural receptor site in the eIGP. To this end, a total of 88 PM2.5 samples collected during the summer, post-monsoon and winter seasons of 2018 were analyzed for SO42-, NO3-, Cl-, Na+, NH4+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, F-, PO43- and WSOC, followed by estimation of strong acidity. Across all seasons, the aerosol phase was dominated by SO42-, NH4+ and NO3-, with values increasing by factors of 1.8-1.9, 1.4-2.9 and 1.8-11, respectively, for the regional BB-dominated post-monsoon and winter seasons as compared to summer. Significant positive Cl- depletion in summer pointed towards the influx of marine air while negative depletion in post-monsoon and winter suggested a BB source, which was further supported by concentration-weighted trajectory analysis. The averaged pH of the aerosol extract decreased progressively from summer (5.5&#177;0.4) to winter (4.5&#177;0.2). NH4+ was observed to be the major acid-neutralizing agent across all seasons, with dust-derived Ca2+ and Mg2+ playing only minor roles. In general, WSOC formation is known to be catalyzed by the presence of excess acidity; however, during winter, it appeared that the regional transport of organic acids in the BB plume contributed to aerosol acidity at this receptor site (r=0.92; p<0.01 for WSOC and H+). BB-derived K+ appeared to perform a dual function of neutralizing acidity as well as producing it via reactions with WSOC during atmospheric transport. The wintertime acidity was also strongly governed by aerosol NO3- sourced from BB emissions and possibly accentuated via nighttime atmospheric chemistry at lower ambient temperatures, resulting in the formation of haze. These observations of the NO3- and WSOC-driven wintertime acidity, the dual function of K+ and the dominant role of NH4+ in neutralization points to complex atmospheric processing of the IGP outflow during its transport to the eastern end of the corridor, which warrants further investigation.

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Influence of agricultural activities on atmospheric pollution during post-monsoon harvesting seasons at a rural location of Indo-Gangetic Plain

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148903 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 148903

Author(s):

Tanbir Singh ◽

Khaiwal Ravindra ◽

Gufran Beig ◽

Suman Mor

Keyword(s):

Atmospheric Pollution ◽

Agricultural Activities ◽

Gangetic Plain ◽

Rural Location ◽

Post Monsoon ◽

Indo Gangetic Plain

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Seasonal analysis of submicron aerosol in Old Delhi using high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometry: chemical characterisation, source apportionment and new marker identification

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-21-10133-2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (13) ◽

pp. 10133-10158

Author(s):

James M. Cash ◽

Ben Langford ◽

Chiara Di Marco ◽

Neil J. Mullinger ◽

James Allan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

High Resolution ◽

Mass Fraction ◽

Crop Residue ◽

Monsoon Period ◽

Post Monsoon ◽

Aerosol Mass ◽

Aerosol Mass Spectrometry ◽

Crop Residue Burning ◽

Waste Burning

Abstract. We present the first real-time composition of submicron particulate matter (PM1) in Old Delhi using high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometry (HR-AMS). Old Delhi is one of the most polluted locations in the world, and PM1 concentrations reached ∼ 750 µg m−3 during the most polluted period, the post-monsoon period, where PM1 increased by 188 % over the pre-monsoon period. Sulfate contributes the largest inorganic PM1 mass fraction during the pre-monsoon (24 %) and monsoon (24 %) periods, with nitrate contributing most during the post-monsoon period (8 %). The organics dominate the mass fraction (54 %–68 %) throughout the three periods, and, using positive matrix factorisation (PMF) to perform source apportionment analysis of organic mass, two burning-related factors were found to contribute the most (35 %) to the post-monsoon increase. The first PMF factor, semi-volatility biomass burning organic aerosol (SVBBOA), shows a high correlation with Earth observation fire counts in surrounding states, which links its origin to crop residue burning. The second is a solid fuel OA (SFOA) factor with links to local open burning due to its high composition of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and novel AMS-measured marker species for polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs). Two traffic factors were resolved: one hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA) factor and another nitrogen-rich HOA (NHOA) factor. The N compounds within NHOA were mainly nitrile species which have not previously been identified within AMS measurements. Their PAH composition suggests that NHOA is linked to diesel and HOA to compressed natural gas and petrol. These factors combined make the largest relative contribution to primary PM1 mass during the pre-monsoon and monsoon periods while contributing the second highest in the post-monsoon period. A cooking OA (COA) factor shows strong links to the secondary factor, semi-volatility oxygenated OA (SVOOA). Correlations with co-located volatile organic compound (VOC) measurements and AMS-measured organic nitrogen oxides (OrgNO) suggest SVOOA is formed from aged COA. It is also found that a significant increase in chloride concentrations (522 %) from pre-monsoon to post-monsoon correlates well with SVBBOA and SFOA, suggesting that crop residue burning and open waste burning are responsible. A reduction in traffic emissions would effectively reduce concentrations across most of the year. In order to reduce the post-monsoon peak, sources such as funeral pyres, solid waste burning and crop residue burning should be considered when developing new air quality policy.

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Variation in carbonaceous and ionic species at a rural receptor location in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-7205 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Bijay Sharma ◽

Anurag J. Polana ◽

Jingying Mao ◽

Shiguo Jia ◽

Sayantan Sarkar

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Forest Fires ◽

Ionic Species ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Photochemical Oxidation ◽

Carbonaceous Aerosol ◽

Charge Ratio ◽

Gangetic Plain ◽

Post Monsoon ◽

Indo Gangetic Plain

The Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) is one of the world&#8217;s most populated river basins housing more than 700 million people. Apart from being a major source region of aerosols, the IGP is affected by transported aerosols from the Thar Desert, forest-fires and open burning of crop waste from central India. Studies have been carried out to understand the aerosol chemical composition and optical properties in source regions of IGP but knowledge is severely lacking for receptor locations viz. eastern IGP (eIGP). To address this, the present study reports the seasonal variability of carbonaceous and ionic species in ambient PM2.5 from a rural receptor location (Mohanpur, West Bengal) along with insights on aerosol acidity, its neutralization and potential source regimes. A total of 88 PM2.5 samples collected during the summer, post-monsoon and winter seasons of 2018 were analyzed for SO42-, NO3-, Cl-, Na+, NH4+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, F-,PO43-, water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) fractions. Sulfate, nitrate and ammonium (SNA) were the dominating ionic species throughout the seasons (67-86% out of the total ionic species measured). Significant positive Cl- depletion in summer (49&#177;20%) pointed towards influx of marine air while negative depletion in post-monsoon and winter suggested a biomass burning (BB) source, which was further supported by concentration-weighted trajectory analysis. Strong acidity was found to be highest during post-monsoon (141&#177;76 nmol m-3), followed by winter (117&#177;36 nmol m-3) and summer (40&#177;14 nmol m-3) with significant differences between summer and the other seasons. Neutralization factor (Nf) and equivalent charge ratio of cation to anion (RC/A) revealed that summertime aerosols were neutral in nature while those of post-monsoon and winter were comparatively acidic with NH4+ being the major neutralizing agent throughout the seasons. Correlations between WSOC and OC fractions (OC1, OC2, OC3 and OC4) suggested secondary formation of summertime WSOC (WSOC vs OC3: r=0.48, p<0.05) via photochemical oxidation of volatile organic carbons (VOCs) while that of post-monsoon (WSOC vs OC1, OC2, OC3: r=0.45-0.62, p<0.05) and winter (WSOC vs OC1, OC2, OC3: r=0.58-0.68, p<0.05), both primary and secondary pathways seem important. To elucidate the role of BB, we looked into the two components of EC i.e., char-EC (EC1-PC) and soot-EC (EC2+EC3). The percent contribution of char-EC to EC was 65&#177;17%, 90&#177;10% and 98&#177;1% during summer, post-monsoon and winter, respectively. Along with this, char-EC/soot-EC ratios of 2.3&#177;1.8, 17.6&#177;16.4 and 50.3&#177;18.6 during summer, post-monsoon and winter, respectively, and significant correlations of the same with the BB-tracer K+ (post-monsoon: r=0.78, p<0.001; winter: r=0.64, p<0.01) indicated the importance of BB emissions in constraining carbonaceous aerosol profiles during post-monsoon and winter.

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