Air quality trends in coastal industrial clusters of Tamil Nadu, India: A comparison with major Indian cities

• Published in: Environmental advances 2023-10, Vol.13, p.100412, Article 100412
• Main Authors: Verma, Ram Lal, Gunawardhana, Lakshani, Singh Kamyotra, Jatinder, Ambade, Balram, Kurwadkar, Sudarshan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air pollutants; Air pollution; Air quality Index; Ambient air quality; Indian major cities; Industrial clusters
• ISSN: 2666-7657; 2666-7657
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envadv.2023.100412

•This study analyzed air quality trend in coastal industrial clusters of Tamil Nadu.•Air quality parameters did not exhibit much seasonal variability.•A decreasing trend in air quality parameters and NAQI were observed over the years.•Observed PM10 and PM2.5 levels did not comply with the NAAQS in most cities. India developed several industrial clusters nationwide, including in the state of Tamil Nadu to boost manufacturing. Three coastal cities, namely, Thoothukudi, Cuddalore, and Manali are developed as industrial clusters in Tamil Nadu. For the first time, we documented air quality trends in these industrial cluster cities of Tamil Nadu and compared them with those in Indian major cities, namely, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai. Between 2015-2020, data on key air quality parameters, such as particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2), and National Air Quality Index (NAQI) measured in these cities were analyzed. Our results suggest that the air quality parameters in coastal industrial cluster cities did not exhibit much seasonal variability owing to the influence of coastal meteorology compared to the hinterland cities, such as Delhi. Among the cities, Delhi showed the highest PM10, PM2.5, NO2 concentration levels, and NAQI, while Mumbai had the highest SO2 concentration levels. We observed that over the years, the concentration levels of NO2 were showing a decreasing trend in all the cities. While the concentration levels of PM10 (except, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata), PM2.5 (except, Mumbai), SO2 (except, Kolkata), and NAQI (except, Mumbai, Manali, and Cuddalore) were showing a declining trend. The observed declining trend could be attributed to the air pollution reduction measures implemented in these cities. However, we also observed that many cities were in non-attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM10 and PM2.5 but attained the NAAQS for NO2, except for a couple of years in Delhi and Kolkata. Whereas, all the cities attained the prescribed NAAQS for SO2. The findings of this study will serve as the baseline information for policymakers and air quality scientists interested in achieving clean air. [Display omitted]