Inferring air pollution from air quality index by different geographical areas: case study in India

• Published in: Air quality, atmosphere and health atmosphere and health, 2019-11, Vol.12 (11), p.1347-1357
• Main Authors: Sharma, Rohit, Kumar, Raghvendra, Sharma, Devendra Kumar, Son, Le Hoang, Priyadarshini, Ishaani, Pham, Binh Thai, Tien Bui, Dieu, Rai, Sakshi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air pollution; Air quality; Airborne particulates; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Cities; Climate change; Construction planning; Cooking; Earth and Environmental Science; Environment; Environmental assessment; Environmental Health; Geographical locations; Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; Nitrogen oxides; Outdoor air quality; Particulate emissions; Particulate matter; Pollution; Pollution control; Sulfur dioxide
• ISSN: 1873-9318; 1873-9326
• DOI: 10.1007/s11869-019-00749-x

India is one of the most polluted countries in the world, where several major cities are facing serious environmental consequences as a result of rapid pollution growth. The objective of this research is to analyze air pollution trends with respect to various geographical locations, in order to have a global view of the damage caused, so that appropriate actions can be developed in the future to prevent air pollution. In this regard, the polluted database was established based on the data provided by the Central Pollution Control Board; Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (India). These data demonstrate the annual growth of SO 2 , NO x , and particulate matter (PM) 2.5 from 2015 to 2018 and were recorded at various monitoring stations in three cities, namely, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai. The results show that SO 2 , NO x , and PM 2.5 were from different transport modes, both small or large-scale power generations (from diesel, coal and gas plant), industries, constructions, and domestic cooking. Overall, there was an increasing trend, day by day, in India. The result categorized the considered areas into the following four classes: critically polluted (CP), highly polluted (HP), moderately polluted (MP), and low polluted (LP). The results will assist in the assessment of pollution for the cities investigated in this research.