scholarly journals Pre-monsoon air quality over Lumbini, a world heritage site along the Himalayan foothills

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (18) ◽  
pp. 11041-11063 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dipesh Rupakheti ◽  
Bhupesh Adhikary ◽  
Puppala Siva Praveen ◽  
Maheswar Rupakheti ◽  
Shichang Kang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Pollution Level ◽  
Pollution Transport ◽  
Gangetic Plain ◽  
Measurement Campaign ◽  
Heritage Site

Abstract. Lumbini, in southern Nepal, is a UNESCO world heritage site of universal value as the birthplace of Buddha. Poor air quality in Lumbini and surrounding regions is a great concern for public health as well as for preservation, protection and promotion of Buddhist heritage and culture. We present here results from measurements of ambient concentrations of key air pollutants (PM, BC, CO, O3) in Lumbini, first of its kind for Lumbini, conducted during an intensive measurement period of 3 months (April–June 2013) in the pre-monsoon season. The measurements were carried out as a part of the international air pollution measurement campaign; SusKat-ABC (Sustainable Atmosphere for the Kathmandu Valley – Atmospheric Brown Clouds). The main objective of this work is to understand and document the level of air pollution, diurnal characteristics and influence of open burning on air quality in Lumbini. The hourly average concentrations during the entire measurement campaign ranged as follows: BC was 0.3–30.0 µg m−3, PM1 was 3.6–197.6 µg m−3, PM2. 5 was 6.1–272.2 µg m−3, PM10 was 10.5–604.0 µg m−3, O3 was 1.0–118.1 ppbv and CO was 125.0–1430.0 ppbv. These levels are comparable to other very heavily polluted sites in South Asia. Higher fraction of coarse-mode PM was found as compared to other nearby sites in the Indo-Gangetic Plain region. The ΔBC ∕ ΔCO ratio obtained in Lumbini indicated considerable contributions of emissions from both residential and transportation sectors. The 24 h average PM2. 5 and PM10 concentrations exceeded the WHO guideline very frequently (94 and 85 % of the sampled period, respectively), which implies significant health risks for the residents and visitors in the region. These air pollutants exhibited clear diurnal cycles with high values in the morning and evening. During the study period, the worst air pollution episodes were mainly due to agro-residue burning and regional forest fires combined with meteorological conditions conducive of pollution transport to Lumbini. Fossil fuel combustion also contributed significantly, accounting for more than half of the ambient BC concentration according to aerosol spectral light absorption coefficients obtained in Lumbini. WRF-STEM, a regional chemical transport model, was used to simulate the meteorology and the concentrations of pollutants to understand the pollutant transport pathways. The model estimated values were ∼ 1. 5 to 5 times lower than the observed concentrations for CO and PM10, respectively. Model-simulated regionally tagged CO tracers showed that the majority of CO came from the upwind region of Ganges Valley. Model performance needs significant improvement in simulating aerosols in the region. Given the high air pollution level, there is a clear and urgent need for setting up a network of long-term air quality monitoring stations in the greater Lumbini region.

scholarly journals Pre-monsoon air quality over Lumbini, a world heritage site along the Himalayan foothills

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dipesh Rupakheti ◽  
Bhupesh Adhikary ◽  
Puppala S. Praveen ◽  
Maheswar Rupakheti ◽  
Shichang Kang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Pollution Level ◽  
Pollution Transport ◽  
Heritage Site

Abstract. Lumbini, in southern Nepal, is a UNESCO world heritage site of universal value as the birthplace of Buddha. Poor air quality in Lumbini and surrounding regions is a great concern for public health as well as for preservation, protection and promotion of Buddhist heritage and culture. We present here results from measurements of ambient concentrations of key air pollutants (PM, BC, CO, O3) in Lumbini, first of its kind for Lumbini, conducted during an intensive measurement period of three months (April–June 2013) in the pre-monsoon season. The measurements were carried out as a part of the international air pollution measurement campaign; SusKat-ABC (Sustainable Atmosphere for the Kathmandu Valley – Atmospheric Brown Clouds). The ranges of hourly average concentrations were: PM10: 10.5–604.0 µg m−3, PM2.5: 6.1–272.2 µg m−3; BC: 0.3–30.0 µg m−3; CO: 125.0–1430.0 ppbv; and O3: 1.0–118.1 ppbv. These levels are comparable to other very heavily polluted sites throughout South Asia. The 24-h average PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations exceeded the WHO guideline very frequently (94 % and 85 % of the sampled period, respectively), which implies significant health risks for the residents and visitors in the region. These air pollutants exhibited clear diurnal cycles with high values in the morning and evening. During the study period, the worst air pollution episodes were mainly due to agro-residue burning and regional forest fires combined with meteorological conditions conducive of pollution transport to Lumbini. Fossil fuel combustion also contributed significantly, accounting for more than half of the ambient BC concentration according to aerosol spectral light absorption coefficients obtained in Lumbini. WRF-STEM, a regional chemical transport model, was used to simulate the meteorology and the concentrations of pollutants. The model was able to reproduce the variation in the pollutant concentrations well; however, estimated values were 1.5 to 5 times lower than the observed concentrations for CO and PM10 respectively. Regionally tagged CO tracers showed the majority of CO came from the upwind region of Ganges valley. The model was also used to examine the chemical composition of the aerosol mixture, indicating that organic carbon was the main constituent of fine mode PM2.5, followed by mineral dust. Given the high pollution level, there is a clear and urgent need for setting up a network of long-term air quality monitoring stations in the greater Lumbini region.

scholarly journals Ozone distributions and urban air quality during summer in Agra – a world heritage site

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 796-804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renuka Saini ◽  
Pradyumn Singh ◽  
Brij B. Awasthi ◽  
Krishan Kumar ◽  
Ajay Taneja
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
Urban Air Quality ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Urban Air ◽  
Heritage Site

Changes of air pollutants’ concentrations in selected Romanian cities during the pandemic year 2020

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Iorga ◽  
George-Bogdan Burghelea
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Meteorological Parameters ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Pollution Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Air Mass

<p>Present research contributes to scientific knowledge concerning spatial and temporal variation of major air pollutants with high resolution at the country scale bringing statistical information on concentrations of NOx, O<sub>3</sub>, CO, SO<sub>2</sub> and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter below 10 μm (PM<sub>10</sub>) and below 2.5 μm (PM<sub>2.5</sub>) during the pandemic year 2020 using an observational data set from the Romanian National Air Quality Network in seven selected cities spread out over the country. These cities have different level of development, play regional roles, might have potential influence at European scale and they are expected to be impacted by different pollution sources. Among them, three cities (Bucharest, Brașov, Iași) appear frequently on the list of the European Commission with reference to the infringement procedure that the European Commission launched against Romania in the period 2007-2020 regarding air quality.</p><p>Air pollutant data was complemented with local meteorological parameters at each site (atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, temperature, global solar radiation, wind speed and direction). Statistics of air pollutants provide us with an overview of air pollution in main Romanian cities.  Correlations between meteorological parameters and ambient pollutant levels were analyzed. Lowest air pollution levels were measured during the lockdown period in spring, as main traffic and non-essential activities were severely restricted. Among exceptions were the construction activities that were not interrupted. During 2020, some of selected cities experienced few pollution episodes which were due to dust transport from Sahara desert. However, in Bucharest metropolitan area, some cases with high pollution level were found correlated with local anthropogenic activity namely, waste incinerations. Air mass origins were investigated for 72 hours back by computing the air mass backward trajectories using the HYSPLIT model. Dust load and spatial distribution of the aerosol optical depth with BSC-DREAM8b v2.0 and NMBM/BSC-Dust models showed the area with dust particles transport during the dust events.</p><p>The obtained results are important for investigations of sources of air pollution and for modeling of air quality.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Acknowledgment:</strong></p><p>The research leading to these results has received funding from the NO Grants 2014-2021, under Project contract no. 31/2020, EEA-RO-NO-2019-0423 project. NOAA Air Resources Laboratory for HYSPLIT transport model, available at READY website https://www.ready.noaa.gov  and the Barcelona dust forecast center for BSC-DREAM8b and NMBM/BSC-Dust models, available at:  https://ess.bsc.es/bsc-dust-daily-forecast are also acknowledged. The data regarding ground-based air pollution and meteorology by site was extracted from the public available Romanian National Air Quality Database, www.calitateaer.ro.</p>

scholarly journals Supplementary material to "Pre-monsoon air quality over Lumbini, a world heritage site along the Himalayan foothills"

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dipesh Rupakheti ◽  
Bhupesh Adhikary ◽  
Puppala S. Praveen ◽  
Maheswar Rupakheti ◽  
Shichang Kang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
Himalayan Foothills ◽  
Supplementary Material

scholarly journals Analysis of fine particulates from fuel burning in a reconstructed building at Çatalhöyük World Heritage Site, Turkey: assessing air pollution in prehistoric settled communities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa-Marie Shillito ◽  
Anil Namdeo ◽  
Aishwarya Vikram Bapat ◽  
Helen Mackay ◽  
Scott D. Haddow
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Fine Particulates ◽  
Fuel Burning ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
Unesco World Heritage Site ◽  
Urban Settlements ◽  
Series Of Experiments

AbstractThe use of wood, dung and other biomass fuels can be traced back to early prehistory. While the study of prehistoric fuel use and its environmental impacts is well established, there has been little investigation of the health impacts this would have had, particularly in the Neolithic period, when people went from living in relatively small groups, to living in dense settlements. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Çatalhöyük, Turkey, is one of the earliest large ‘pre-urban’ settlements in the world. In 2017, a series of experiments were conducted to measure fine particulate (PM2.5) concentrations during typical fuel burning activities, using wood and dung fuel. The results indicate that emissions from both fuels surpassed the WHO and EU standard limits for indoor air quality, with dung fuel being the highest contributor for PM2.5 pollution inside the house, producing maximum values > 150,000 µg m−3. Maximum levels from wood burning were 36,000 µg m−3. Average values over a 2–3 h period were 13–60,000 µg m−3 for dung and 10–45,000 µg m−3 for wood. The structure of the house, lack of ventilation and design of the oven and hearth influenced the air quality inside the house. These observations have implications for understanding the relationship between health and the built environment in the past.

The Influence of Shallow Foehn on Atmospheric Diffusion Conditions and Air Quality over Urumqi in Winter

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhao keming
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Inversion Layer ◽  
Mixing Layer ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Pollution Level ◽  
Atmospheric Diffusion

<p>Using hourly air pollutants concentration from six environmental monitor stations, meteorological data and wind profile radar data in winter during 2013-2015, the influences of shallow foehn on diffusion conditions and air pollution concentration over Urumqi were analyzed. The results showed the occurrence frequency of shallow foehn was 57.3% in Urumqi in winter. The flow depth, base height and top height of shallow foehn were about 1500 m, 600 m and 2100 m, respectively. The maximum mixing layer depth, the inversion depth, the temperature difference between the top and bottom of inversion layer on foehn days were 200 m lower, 344m thicker and 4.4℃ higher than the corresponding values on non-foehn days, respectively. However, the differences of wind speed and inversion intensity between on foehn days and on non-foehn days were slight. Also, the frequency of each pollution level on foehn days was higher than on non-foehn days with extra frequency of 18% from level Ⅲ to level Ⅵ. Moreover, there was foehn existence on days with air pollution level Ⅵ. Except for O<sub>3</sub>, the other five air pollutant concentrations at each environmental station on foen days were all higher than on non-foehn days but with similar diurnal variation. The spatial distributions of six air pollutants on foehn days and non-foehn days were almost same. Overall, the air quality at south urban area was relative excellent than other areas.</p>

INHERITING THE CITY: HISTORIC URBAN LANDSCAPE OF GEORGE TOWN UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rohayah Che Amat
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Unesco World Heritage ◽  
Landscape Values ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
Unesco World Heritage Site ◽  
Community Evaluation ◽  
George Town

This research presents the value of historic urban landscape (HUL) elements in influencing the character of George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS), Penang, Malaysia. The values were perceived by the local community of different social-cultural groups that occupied the study area. The historic urban landscape elements constitute towards the protection of its townscape. The identification of the heritage elements influenced by the community interaction with their environment. This study also helps to define the character of a place, as well as reflecting its historical significance. The study adopted four techniques to gather both qualitative and quantitative data, including questionnaire survey, in-depth interview, visual survey and content analysis. In general, the local community has the capability in valuing the historic urban landscape values. The outcomes of their perceptions became the statement of the historic urban landscape values, which are expected to lead to the development of the areas. The community evaluation and perception can be expanded in implementing any development of the historic urban area by the authority.

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