Rajshahi, A pollution free city: Effects of implied elements and battery rickshaw towards a sustainable environment

2021 ◽  
pp. 13-17
Author(s):  
Rubaba Archi ◽  
Md.Israil Hossain
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
World Health ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Pollution Level ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Sustainable Environment ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Intercity Transportation ◽  
The City ◽  
Percent Decline

This paper describes how the city of Rajshahi fought back air pollution through adopting mitigation measures by identifying every possible contributing factors of the pollution. The paper also includes how implementing battery operated rickshaw as a means of intercity transportation impacted the pollution level and contributed towards sustainable environment. The paper covers the details about the problem identification process and the mitigation measures taken by the engineers in the Rajshahi City Corporation. As a result of the steps taken, Rajshahi showed a 67.2% percent decline in concentration of PM10 particles, from 195 micrograms per cubic meter of air volume in 2014 to 64 micrograms for cubic meters. This was the largest percentage reduction in PM10 concentration worldwide. PM2.5 concentration also nearly halved from 70 micrograms per cubic meter to micrograms per cubic meter. The report where this achievement was announced was published by World Health Organization (WHO). By analyzing the discussion it was concluded that Rajshahi was a model city and can be considered as a benchmark and ideal for other cities to follow to reduce air pollution and create a sustainable environment.

Decision Tree-Based Analytics for Reducing Air Pollution

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (02) ◽  
pp. 1850015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajanta Das ◽  
Anindita Desarkar
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Decision Tree ◽  
World Health ◽  
Pollution Level ◽  
Rule Base ◽  
Premature Deaths ◽  
Id3 Algorithm ◽  
Rule Sets ◽  
Term Basis ◽  
Health Organization

Air pollution indicates contaminated air which arises due to the effect of physical, biological or chemical alteration to the air in the atmosphere applicable both for indoors and outdoors. This situation arises when poisonous gases, dust or smoke enter into the atmosphere and make the surroundings vulnerable for any living beings as well as difficult for them to survive. Large numbers of premature deaths happen across the globe if exposed to these pollutants on a long-term basis as major portion of the cities have the pollution level above the threshold determined by World Health Organization (WHO). So appropriate measures need to be taken on a priority basis to reduce air pollution as well as save our planet. This paper proposes a novel air pollution reduction approach which collects source pollution data. After extraction of source data, it uses various databases (DBs) and then different decisions or classes are created. The decision tree was created with the help of Iterative Dichotomiser 3 (ID3) algorithm to implement the rule base appropriately depending on the air pollution level and a bunch of rule sets were derived from the decision tree further.

scholarly journals Assessing the Immediate Effect of Covid-19 Lockdown on Air Quality: A Case Study of Delhi, India

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 27-33
Author(s):  
Ankit Sikarwar ◽  
Ritu Rani
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Spatial Interpolation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Guideline Values ◽  
Distance Weighting ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The City ◽  
Inverse Distance

Abstract In India, a nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19 has been implemented on 25 March 2020. The lockdown restrictions on more than 1.3 billion people have brought exceptional changes in the air quality all over the country. This study aims to analyze the levels of three major pollutants: particulate matter sized 2.5 μm (PM2.5) and 10 μm (PM10), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) before and during the lockdown in Delhi, one of the world’s most polluted cities. The data for PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 concentrations are derived from 38 ground stations dispersed within the city. The spatial interpolation maps of pollutants for two times are generated using Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) model. The results indicate decreasing levels of PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 concentrations in the city by 93%, 83%, and 70% from 25 February 2020 to 21 April 2020 respectively. It is found that one month before the lockdown the levels of air pollution in Delhi were critical and much higher than the guideline values set by the World Health Organization. The levels of air pollution became historically low after the lockdown. Considering the critically degraded air quality for decades and higher morbidity and mortality rate due to unhealthy air in Delhi, the improvement in air quality due to lockdown may result as a boon for the better health of the city’s population.

scholarly journals Impact of Maternal Air Pollution Exposure on Children’s Lung Health: An Indian Perspective

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pritam Saha ◽  
Ebin Johny ◽  
Ashish Dangi ◽  
Sopan B Shinde ◽  
Mathew Eapen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Maternal Exposure ◽  
World Health ◽  
Pollution Level ◽  
Cellular Mechanisms ◽  
Quality Guideline ◽  
Phases Of Development ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Long Term Impact

Air pollution has become a growing invisible killer in recent years and is major cause of morbidity and mortality globally. India stands 10th among the highly polluted countries with an average PM10 level of 134μg/m3 per year. It is also reported that 99% of India's population comes across air pollution level that exceed the World Health Organization Air Quality Guideline (AQG), PM2.5 permissible levels of 10 μg/m3. Maternal exposure to air pollution has a serious health outcome to the offspring because it can affect embryonic phases of development during the gestation period. Fetus is more prone to air pollution effect during embryonic developmental phases due to oxidative stress as antioxidant mechanisms are lacking at that stage. Any injury during this vulnerable period (embryonic phase) will have long-term impact on offspring health both in early and later in life. Epidemiological studies have revealed that maternal exposure to air pollution increases the risk of developing airways disease in offspring due to impaired lung development in utero. In this review, we discuss cellular mechanisms involved in maternal exposure to air pollution and how it can impact development of airways disease in offspring. Better understanding of these mechanisms in context of maternal exposure to air pollution can offer newer avenue to prevent development of airways disease in offspring.

scholarly journals Assessing the immediate effect of COVID-19 lockdown on air quality: A case study of Delhi, India

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ankit Sikarwar ◽  
Ritu Rani
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Spatial Interpolation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Guideline Values ◽  
Distance Weighting ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The City ◽  
Inverse Distance

Abstract In India, the nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19 has been implemented on 25 March 2020. The lockdown restrictions on more than 1.3 billion people have brought exceptional changes in the air quality all over the country. This study aims to analyze the levels of three major pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, and NO2) before and during the lockdown in Delhi, one of the world’s most polluted cities. The data for PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 concentrations are derived from 38 ground stations dispersed within the city. The spatial interpolation maps of pollutants for two times are generated using Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) model. The results indicate the lowering of PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 concentrations in the city by 93%, 83%, and 70% from 25 February 2020 to 21 April 2020 respectively. It is found that before one month of the lockdown the levels of air pollution in Delhi were critically high and far beyond the guideline values set by the World Health Organization. The levels of air pollution are historically low after the lockdown. Considering the critically degraded air quality for decades and higher morbidity and mortality rate due to unhealthy air in Delhi, the improvement in air quality due to lockdown may result as a boon for the better health of the city’s population.

scholarly journals Impact of Maternal Air Pollution Exposure on Children’s Lung Health: An Indian Perspective

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pritam Saha ◽  
Ebin Johny ◽  
Ashish Dangi ◽  
Shinde Bhagwan ◽  
Mathew Eapen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Maternal Exposure ◽  
World Health ◽  
Pollution Level ◽  
Cellular Mechanisms ◽  
Quality Guideline ◽  
Phases Of Development ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Long Term Impact

Air pollution has become a growing invisible killer in recent years and is major cause of morbidity and mortality globally. India stands 10th among the highly polluted countries with an average PM10 level of 134μg/m3 per year. It is also reported that 99% of India's population comes across air pollution level that exceed the World Health Organization Air Quality Guideline (AQG), PM2.5 permissible levels of 10 μg/m3. Maternal exposure to air pollution has a serious health outcome to the offspring because it can affect embryonic phases of development during the gestation period. Fetus is more prone to air pollution effect during embryonic developmental phases due to oxidative stress as antioxidant mechanisms are lacking at that stage. Any injury during this vulnerable period (embryonic phase) will have long-term impact on offspring health both in early and later in life. Epidemiological studies have revealed that maternal exposure to air pollution increases the risk of developing airways disease in offspring due to impaired lung development in utero. In this review, we discuss cellular mechanisms involved in maternal exposure to air pollution and how it can impact development of airways disease in offspring. Better understanding of these mechanisms in context of maternal exposure to air pollution can offer newer avenue to prevent development of airways disease in offspring.

scholarly journals Temporal variations in air pollution at two roundabouts in the city of Cotonou, Benin

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karine L.M. Codjo-Seignon ◽  
Vincentia M.C. Houssou ◽  
Philippe Kossolou ◽  
Ghislain E. Sopoh ◽  
Martin P. Aina
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Electrochemical Sensors ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
World Health ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Positive Linear Correlation ◽  
Solar Powered ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The City ◽  
Background Air

Background: Air pollution has caused health and environmental problems around the world. In this study we analysed the temporal evolution of air pollution in Cotonou regarding the standards of Benin and of World Health Organization (WHO). Methods: Solar-powered electrochemical sensors (CO: carbon monoxide, SO2: sulphur dioxide, and O3/NO2: ozone/nitrogen dioxide) and photoionization detectors (for NMVOC: nonmethane volatile organic compounds) were permanently installed and monitored from June 2019 to March 2020 at Akpakpa PK3 (A) and Vèdokô Cica-Toyota (B) roundabouts.Results: CO and SO2 concentrations at both roundabouts were significantly higher on weekends than on weekdays. The concentrations of NMVOC and O3 / NO2 on Sunday differed considerably from the other days of the week at A and B, respectively. There was a positive linear correlation between the concentrations of CO and SO2, O3 / NO2 and SO2, and CO O3 / NO2 to B, and only between CO and O3 / NO2, in A.At the two sites, the average of SO2 concentrations (in μg/m3) were higher than the WHO standard (500) for an exposure of 10 minutes (2258 A and 2143 B) and the Benin standard (1300) for 1 hour exposure (2181 in A and 2092 in B).Conclusion: Air pollution varies in hours and days in Cotonou. Standards are respected, except for SO2. Particular attention should be paid to the concentrations and the possible sources of gas. More sophisticated monitoring system should be put in place.

scholarly journals Integration of GIS, Traffic Volume, Vehicular Speed and Road Grades Related-Air Pollution in Amman

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 3071-3074
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Traffic Management ◽  
Traffic Signals ◽  
Traffic Volume ◽  
World Health ◽  
Pollution Level ◽  
Analytical Technique ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Traffic Volumes ◽  
Health Organization

This study involves field data and analytical technique into spatially map air pollution levels on account of traffic volumes, vehicle speeds and grades of roads at relatively high traffic volumes signalized intersections in Amman; capital of Jordan . The study was conducted by collecting traffic and air pollution data at twelve locations in four streets, each street located in a different zone. Also the data collection process was conducted at many highly jam traffic time periods. The highest air pollution level was measured at 7th circle in Abdullah Gosheh street, where was the maximum Average traffic volume. And the least air pollution level of the studied areas was at Anas Bin Malek Street which is located in Ras Al-Ain zone , so that it can be an acceptable residential area. Results showed clearly that the highest air pollution levels found near traffic signals and at the stop lines of them, and theses concentrations decrease while being more far from traffic signals. Also, increasing in road gradients leads to a decrease in speed of vehicles, this leads to an increase in the pollutants concentrations. The highest air pollution concentrations were 0.7, 0.6, 9.9, and 0.6 (in ppm) of NO2, SO2, CO and SPM respectively. The R-square value, square of relative coefficient, of the relationships between NO2, SO2, CO & SPM concentrations and traffic volume were approximately: 0.9135, 0.8822, 0.8977, and 0.8934 respectively. It is noticed that traffic volume is the most significant factor that affects SO2, NO2, CO & SPM concentrations. This research has illustrated that the pollutants’ concentrations are larger than recommended concentrations of World Health Organization (WHO) in most locations of the studied areas, and that showing a necessity for a standard air quality monitoring, traffic management arrangement and effective procedures should be followed to reduce the resulted pollution.

scholarly journals Exploring Environmental Health on Weibo: A Textual Analysis of Framing Haze-Related Stories on Chinese Social Media

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (13) ◽  
pp. 2374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fan Yang ◽  
Jessica Wendorf Muhamad ◽  
Qinghua Yang
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
World Health ◽  
Environmental Carcinogens ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Chinese Social Media

According to the latest report by the World Health Organization, air pollution, one of the planet’s most dangerous environmental carcinogens, has become one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths. In China this is a particularly crucial issue, with more than 100 cities and close to one billion individuals threatened by haze due to heavy air pollution in recent years. Beyond traditional channels, the rise of social media has led to greater online haze-related information sharing. Formative research suggests that Weibo is playing a larger role in the process of information seeking than traditional media. Given the severity of haze and the influential role of Weibo, a textual analysis was conducted based on Sina Weibo (Chinese Twitter) to provide health decision-makers and media consumers knowledge on how environmental health issues such as haze are framed in Chinese social media. Framing theory served to explain the differences across various outlets: People’s Daily, China Daily, and the Chinese version of the Wall Street Journal. By analyzing 407 Weibo posts, five major frames emerged: (1) governmental concern, (2) public opinion and issue management, (3) contributing factors and effects, (4) socializing haze-related news, and (5) external haze-related news.

Characterizing the effectiveness of COVID-19 mitigation measures: A data-centric approach (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukman Olagoke ◽  
Ahmet E. Topcu
Keyword(s):  
Control Measure ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
World Health ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
The World ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND COVID-19 represents a serious threat to both national health and economic systems. To curb this pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a series of COVID-19 public safety guidelines. Different countries around the world initiated different measures in line with the WHO guidelines to mitigate and investigate the spread of COVID-19 in their territories. OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper is to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of these control measures using a data-centric approach. METHODS We begin with a simple text analysis of coronavirus-related articles and show that reports on similar outbreaks in the past strongly proposed similar control measures. This reaffirms the fact that these control measures are in order. Subsequently, we propose a simple performance statistic that quantifies general performance and performance under the different measures that were initiated. A density based clustering of based on performance statistic was carried out to group countries based on performance. RESULTS The performance statistic helps evaluate quantitatively the impact of COVID-19 control measures. Countries tend show variability in performance under different control measures. The performance statistic has negative correlation with cases of death which is a useful characteristics for COVID-19 control measure performance analysis. A web-based time-line visualization that enables comparison of performances and cases across continents and subregions is presented. CONCLUSIONS The performance metric is relevant for the analysis of the impact of COVID-19 control measures. This can help caregivers and policymakers identify effective control measures and reduce cases of death due to COVID-19. The interactive web visualizer provides easily digested and quick feedback to augment decision-making processes in the COVID-19 response measures evaluation. CLINICALTRIAL Not Applicable

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