scholarly journals Source influence on emission pathways and ambient PM<sub>2.5</sub> pollution over India (2015–2050)

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 8017-8039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandra Venkataraman ◽  
Michael Brauer ◽  
Kushal Tibrewal ◽  
Pankaj Sadavarte ◽  
Qiao Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Biomass Combustion ◽  
Anthropogenic Source ◽  
Population Exposure ◽  
Future Economic Development ◽  
Future Air Pollution

Abstract. India is currently experiencing degraded air quality, and future economic development will lead to challenges for air quality management. Scenarios of sectoral emissions of fine particulate matter and its precursors were developed and evaluated for 2015–2050, under specific pathways of diffusion of cleaner and more energy-efficient technologies. The impacts of individual source sectors on PM2.5 concentrations were assessed through systematic simulations of spatially and temporally resolved particulate matter concentrations, using the GEOS-Chem model, followed by population-weighted aggregation to national and state levels. We find that PM2.5 pollution is a pan-India problem, with a regional character, and is not limited to urban areas or megacities. Under present-day emissions, levels in most states exceeded the national PM2.5 annual standard (40 µg m−3). Sources related to human activities were responsible for the largest proportion of the present-day population exposure to PM2.5 in India. About 60 % of India's mean population-weighted PM2.5 concentrations come from anthropogenic source sectors, while the remainder are from other sources, windblown dust and extra-regional sources. Leading contributors are residential biomass combustion, power plant and industrial coal combustion and anthropogenic dust (including coal fly ash, fugitive road dust and waste burning). Transportation, brick production and distributed diesel were other contributors to PM2.5. Future evolution of emissions under regulations set at current levels and promulgated levels caused further deterioration of air quality in 2030 and 2050. Under an ambitious prospective policy scenario, promoting very large shifts away from traditional biomass technologies and coal-based electricity generation, significant reductions in PM2.5 levels are achievable in 2030 and 2050. Effective mitigation of future air pollution in India requires adoption of aggressive prospective regulation, currently not formulated, for a three-pronged switch away from (i) biomass-fuelled traditional technologies, (ii) industrial coal-burning and (iii) open burning of agricultural residue. Future air pollution is dominated by industrial process emissions, reflecting larger expansion in industrial, rather than residential energy demand. However, even under the most active reductions envisioned, the 2050 mean exposure, excluding any impact from windblown mineral dust, is estimated to be nearly 3 times higher than the WHO Air Quality Guideline.

scholarly journals Source influence on emission pathways and ambient PM<sub>2.5</sub> pollution over India (2015–2050)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandra Venkataraman ◽  
Michael Brauer ◽  
Kushal Tibrewal ◽  
Pankaj Sadavarte ◽  
Qiao Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
North India ◽  
National Standard ◽  
Management Scenarios ◽  
Agricultural Residue ◽  
Future Economic Development

Abstract. India currently experiences degraded air quality, with future economic development leading to challenges for air quality management. Scenarios of sectoral emissions of fine particulate matter and its precursors were developed and evaluated for 2015–2050, under specific pathways of diffusion of cleaner and more energy efficiency technologies. The impacts of individual source-sectors on PM2.5 concentrations were assessed through GEOS-Chem model simulations of spatially and temporally resolved particulate matter concentrations, followed by population-weighted aggregation to national and state levels. PM2.5 pollution is a pan-India problem, with a regional character, not limited to urban areas or megacities. Under present-day emissions, levels in most states exceeded the national PM2.5 standard (40 µg/m3). Future evolution of emissions under current regulation or under promulgated or proposed regulation, yield deterioration in future air-quality in 2030 and 2050. Only under a scenario where more ambitious measures are introduced, promoting a total shift away from traditional biomass technologies and a very large shift (80–85 %) to non-fossil electricity generation was an overall reduction in PM2.5 concentrations below 2015 levels achieved. In this scenario, concentrations in 20 states and six union territories would fall below the national standard. However, even under this ambitious scenario, 10 states (including Delhi) would fail to comply with the national standard through to 2050. Under present day (2015) emissions, residential biomass fuel use for cooking and heating is the largest single sector influencing outdoor air pollution across most of India. Agricultural residue burning is the next most important source, especially in north-west and north India, while in eastern and peninsular India, coal burning in thermal power plants and industry are important contributors. The relative influence of anthropogenic dust and total dust is projected to increase in all future scenarios, largely from decreases in the influence of other PM2.5 sources. Overall, the findings suggest a large regional background of PM2.5 pollution (from residential biomass, agricultural residue burning and power plant and industrial coal), underlying that from local sources (transportation, brick kiln, distributed diesel) in highly polluted areas.

Evaluation of Air Pollution by NO2, SO2, PM10 in Bucharest

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-111
Author(s):  
Carmen Otilia Rusanescu ◽  
Cosmin Jinescu ◽  
Marin Rusanescu ◽  
Mihaela Begea ◽  
Olimpia Ghermec
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Sulfur Dioxide ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Average Concentration ◽  
Limit Set ◽  
Temperature Influence ◽  
Wind Regime ◽  
Pm 10

In this paper is analysed the air quality in urban areas in Bucharest, the analysis was based on the monitoring of the average concentration of particulate matter PM 10, nitrogen oxides, NO2, and sulfur dioxide, SO2 in Bucharest between 2009-2015. The analysis refers to the maximum concentration of 24 h and the occurrence of overruns beyond the limit set. It also looked at the wind regime, air quality and temperature influence on air pollution in Bucharest between 2009-2015.

scholarly journals Spatial Analysis of Exposure to Traffic-Related Air Pollution in Mexico: Implications for Urban Planning to Improve Public Health

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruben Garnica-Monroy ◽  
Veronica Garibay-Bravo ◽  
Alonso Gonzalez-Gonzalez ◽  
Hilda Martínez Salgado ◽  
Malinalli Hernández-Reyes
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Heavy Traffic ◽  
Similar Proportion ◽  
Population Exposure ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Hospital Patients

AbstractIn cities, traffic is one of the major determinants for air quality. Studies have shown that proximity to roadways with heavy traffic has been linked with increased incidence and prevalence of a range of health effects such as adverse birth outcomes, dementia, asthma, and increased risk of bronchitis, wheezing, deficits in lung function growth and airway inflammation, especially among children. In Mexico, 103 urban areas have air quality monitoring, whilst more than 2,000 cities lack any information and only 29 have monitoring systems that are robust enough to estimate exposure. This poses serious limitations for environmental and health authorities when aiming at assessing current exposure levels to Traffic-Related Air Pollution (TRAP) with the purpose of designing and implementing policies to reduce the impacts of poor air quality in the population. This study proposes an approach to estimate the population potentially exposed to TRAP using Space Syntax’s accessibility index as the urban form variable. We selected the ten most accessible roads of the five Mexican cities to estimate the proportion of vulnerable population (residents, employees, schoolchildren, hospital patients) with the highest potential exposure to TRAP at a distance of 500 m. Our findings show a similar proportion of the population continually exposed to TRAP due to the proximity to roads with heavy traffic than studies using more complex models. Finally, this study presents alternatives to reduce current population exposure to traffic emissions in Mexican cities.

Temporal patterns and trends of air pollution over distinct European urban areas

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera Rodrigues ◽  
Carla Gama ◽  
Ana Ascenso ◽  
Kevin Oliveira ◽  
Sílvia Coelho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
The Other ◽  
Limit Values ◽  
Legal Standards ◽  
Residential Heating ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The City

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;European cities have made significant progress over the last decades towards a clean air. Despite all this progress, several urban areas are frequently exceeding air quality levels allowed by the European legal standards. The ClairCity project funded by the H2020 program addressed air pollution bringing a key missing factor in the way cities and societies organized themselves and work: citizens at the heart not only of the air pollution issues, but also of the solution, focusing on their behaviour, activities and practices. In this work, the ClairCity European pilot cities and regions (Bristol in the UK, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Ljubljana in Slovenia, Sosnowiec in Poland, the Aveiro region in Portugal and the Liguria region around Genoa in Italy&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;) are studied in terms of air quality for a 10 year period regarding the main atmospheric pollutants over urban areas, namely particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ozone.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Therefore, the main objective of this work is to present a comprehensive diagnosis of the air quality and its main emission sources for each case study. The concentrations trends in the different typology of monitoring stations (background, traffic and industrial) were addressed, together with the knowledge of daily, weekly and seasonal pollution patterns to better understand the city specific profiles and to characterise pollutant dynamics and variations in multiple locations. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Each city/ region faces different issues and causes of air pollution, but all of these case studies have been working on to improve their air quality. In Bristol there have been strong downward trends in many air pollutants, but the levels of NO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; remain persistently high and of concern, with transport the key contributor. PM on the other hand is not widely monitored in Bristol, but background levels at least are under limit values. Similarly, the main sources of air pollution in Amsterdam are traffic, in particular for NO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;, and international shipping. Decreasing emissions and concentration levels point to some success of Amsterdam air quality policies in recent years. PM&lt;sub&gt;10&lt;/sub&gt; exceedances are a seasonal pollution problem in Ljubljana, with the main particulate matter sources attributed to residential heating, which is still significantly outdated in some parts of the city, where households still heat with burning wood and biomass during winter. The most pressing issue for air quality within Sosnowiec is emissions from residential heating. Particulate matter are the main critical pollutants, linked with the use of inefficient heating systems, together with poor quality fuels, in winter. On the other hand, NO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; limit values are also exceeded in Sosnowiec, but in comparison to the low-stack emissions, the problem is far smaller. On contrary, air quality in the Aveiro region is relatively good, due to an overall relatively low population density in the region, and an open landscape in a maritime climate. PM&lt;sub&gt;10&lt;/sub&gt; and O&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; exceedances do occur occasionally. While, exceedances of NO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; and O&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; concentrations are still problematic in Liguria region, with road transport, industrial plants and port activities being the main contributors to these problems.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Analyzing and Improving the Performance of a Particulate Matter Low Cost Air Quality Monitoring Device

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 251
Author(s):  
Evangelos Bagkis ◽  
Theodosios Kassandros ◽  
Marinos Karteris ◽  
Apostolos Karteris ◽  
Kostas Karatzas
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Quality Monitoring ◽  
Reference Station ◽  
Air Quality Monitoring ◽  
Pollution Levels

Air quality (AQ) in urban areas is deteriorating, thus having negative effects on people’s everyday lives. Official air quality monitoring stations provide the most reliable information, but do not always depict air pollution levels at scales reflecting human activities. They also have a high cost and therefore are limited in number. This issue can be addressed by deploying low cost AQ monitoring devices (LCAQMD), though their measurements are of far lower quality. In this paper we study the correlation of air pollution levels reported by such a device and by a reference station for particulate matter, ozone and nitrogen dioxide in Thessaloniki, Greece. On this basis, a corrective factor is modeled via seven machine learning algorithms in order to improve the quality of measurements for the LCAQMD against reference stations, thus leading to its on-field computational improvement. We show that our computational intelligence approach can improve the performance of such a device for PM10 under operational conditions.

Vicious Cycle of Economic Growth, Pm2.5 and COVID-19 Case of G7 Countries

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rıdvan Karacan
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Fine Particulate Matter ◽  
Panel Cointegration ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Population Exposure ◽  
Causality Analysis ◽  
G7 Countries

<p>Today, production is carried out depending on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels pollute the air as they contain high levels of carbon. Many studies have been carried out on the economic costs of air pollution. However, in the present study, unlike the former ones, economic growth's relationship with the COVID-19 virus in addition to air pollution was examined. The COVID-19 virus, which was initially reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and affected the whole world, has caused many cases and deaths. Researchers have been going on studying how the virus is transmitted. Some of these studies suggest that the number of virus-related cases increases in regions with a high level of air pollution. Based on this fact, it is thought that air pollution will increase the number of COVID-19 cases in G7 Countries where industrial production is widespread. Therefore, the negative aspects of economic growth, which currently depends on fossil fuels, is tried to be revealed. The research was carried out for the period between 2000-2019. Panel cointegration test and panel causality analysis were used for the empirical analysis. Particulate matter known as PM2.5[1] was used as an indicator of air pollution. Consequently, a positive long-term relationship has been identified between PM2.5 and economic growth. This relationship also affects the number of COVID-19 cases.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>[1] "Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is an air pollutant that poses the greatest risk to health globally, affecting more people than any other pollutant (WHO, 2018). Chronic exposure to PM2.5 considerably increases the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in particular (WHO, 2018). For these reasons, population exposure to (outdoor or ambient) PM2.5 has been identified as an OECD Green Growth headline indicator" (OECD.Stat).</p>

Improving the Protection of Children Against Air Pollution Threats in Romania � The RokidAIR Project Approach and Future Perspectives

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 841-846
Author(s):  
Hai-Ying Liu ◽  
Daniel Dunea ◽  
Mihaela Oprea ◽  
Tom Savu ◽  
Stefania Iordache
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Behavioural Change ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Personal Exposure ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Quality Maps

This paper presents the approach used to develop the information chain required to reach the objectives of the EEA Grants� RokidAIR project in two Romanian cities i.e., Targoviste and Ploiesti. It describes the PM2.5 monitoring infrastructure and architecture to the web-based GIS platform, the early warning system and the decision support system, and finally, the linking of air pollution to health effects in children. In addition, it shows the analysis performance of the designed system to process the collected time series from various data sources using the benzene concentrations monitored in Ploiesti. Moreover, this paper suggests that biomarkers, mobile technologies, and Citizens� Observatories are potential perspectives to improve data coverage by the provision of near-real-time air quality maps, and provide personal exposure and health assessment results, enabling the citizens� engagement and behavioural change. This paper also addresses new fields in nature-based solutions to improve air quality, and studies on air pollution and its mental health effects in the urban areas of Romania.

scholarly journals Morpho-Physio-Biochemical Attributes of Roadside Trees as Potential Tools for Biomonitoring of Air Quality and Environmental Health in Urban Areas

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 236
Author(s):  
Ha Na You ◽  
Myeong Ja Kwak ◽  
Sun Mi Je ◽  
Jong Kyu Lee ◽  
Yea Ji Lim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Biochemical Parameters ◽  
Lipid Peroxide ◽  
Platanus Occidentalis ◽  
Physiological Variables ◽  
Sources Of Pollution ◽  
Species Specific

Environmental pollution is an important issue in metropolitan areas, and roadside trees are directly affected by various sources of pollution to which they exhibit numerous responses. The aim of the present study was to identify morpho-physio-biochemical attributes of maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba L.) and American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis L.) growing under two different air quality conditions (roadside with high air pollution, RH and roadside with low air pollution, RL) and to assess the possibility of using their physiological and biochemical parameters as biomonitoring tools in urban areas. The results showed that the photosynthetic rate, photosynthetic nitrogen-use efficiencies, and photochromic contents were generally low in RH in both G. biloba and P. occidentalis. However, water-use efficiency and leaf temperature showed high values in RH trees. Among biochemical parameters, in G. biloba, the lipid peroxide content was higher in RH than in RL trees, but in P. occidentalis, this content was lower in RH than in RL trees. In both species, physiological activities were low in trees planted in areas with high levels of air pollution, whereas their biochemical and morphological variables showed different responses to air pollution. Thus, we concluded that it is possible to determine species-specific physiological variables affected by regional differences of air pollution in urban areas, and these findings may be helpful for monitoring air quality and environmental health using trees.

scholarly journals Contribution of Local and Transboundary Air Pollution to the Urban Air Quality of Fukuoka, Japan

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 431
Author(s):  
Ayako Yoshino ◽  
Akinori Takami ◽  
Keiichiro Hara ◽  
Chiharu Nishita-Hara ◽  
Masahiko Hayashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Gaseous Species ◽  
Transboundary Air Pollution ◽  
Local Air Pollution ◽  
The City

Transboundary air pollution (TAP) and local air pollution (LAP) influence the air quality of urban areas. Fukuoka, located on the west side of Japan and affected by TAP from the Asian continent, is a unique example for understanding the contribution of LAP and TAP. Gaseous species and particulate matter (PM) were measured for approximately three weeks in Fukuoka in the winter of 2018. We classified two distinctive periods, LAP and TAP, based on wind speed. The classification was supported by variations in the concentration of gaseous species and by backward trajectories. Most air pollutants, including NOx and PM, were high in the LAP period and low in the TAP period. However, ozone was the exception. Therefore, our findings suggest that reducing local emissions is necessary. Ozone was higher in the TAP period, and the variation in ozone concentration was relatively small, indicating that ozone was produced outside of the city and transported to Fukuoka. Thus, air pollutants must also be reduced at a regional scale, including in China.

scholarly journals Particulate matter air pollution offsets ozone damage to global crop production

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke D. Schiferl ◽  
Colette L. Heald
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Diffuse Radiation ◽  
Environmental Pressures ◽  
Global Food Security ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Pollution Exposure

Abstract. Ensuring global food security requires a comprehensive understanding of environmental pressures on food production, including the impacts of air quality. Surface ozone damages plants and decreases crop production; this effect has been extensively studied. In contrast, the presence of particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere can be beneficial to crops given that enhanced light scattering leads to a more even and efficient distribution of photons which can outweigh total incoming radiation loss. This study quantifies the impacts of ozone and PM on the global production of maize, rice, and wheat in 2010 and 2050. We show that accounting for the growing season of these crops is an important factor in determining their air pollution exposure. We find that the effect of PM can offset much, if not all, of the reduction in yield associated with ozone damage. Assuming maximum sensitivity to PM, the current (2010) global net impact of air quality on crop production is positive (+6.0 %, +0.5 %, and +4.9 % for maize, wheat, and rice, respectively). Future emissions scenarios indicate that attempts to improve air quality can result in a net negative effect on crop production in areas dominated by the PM effect. However, we caution that the uncertainty in this assessment is large due to the uncertainty associated with crop response to changes in diffuse radiation; this highlights that more detailed physiological study of this response for common cultivars is crucial.

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