Effects of air pollution on meteorological parameters during Deepawali festival over an Indian urban metropolis
Introduction
In recent times, short-term air quality degradation episodes are drawing increased attention of the scientific community as they considerably affect human health through long-term adverse effects (Pope et al., 2002, Pope and Dockery, 2006, Nastos et al., 2010, Singh et al., 2010, Samoli et al., 2011, Bapna et al., 2013, Bhuyan et al., 2014). Burning of fireworks during festivals are significant contributors to air pollution in India, which are of increasing concern in terms of health hazards and effects on environment. Fireworks during celebrations like Deepawali in India, Lass Fallas in Spain, Lantern festival in Beijing, New year celebration belong to same category and have been reported to be significant sources of anthropogenic aerosols all over the world (Mandal et al., 1997, Drewnick et al., 2006, Vecchi et al., 2008, Wang et al., 2007, Nishanth et al., 2012, Vyas and Saraswat, 2012, Cheng et al., 2014). Deepawali festival experiences the most extensive burning of fireworks in India causing a major concern for environmental and atmospheric pollutants such as, sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matters (PM10) and several metals like aluminium, manganese and cadmium, etc., are released in significant quantity associated with serious health hazards (Ravindra et al., 2003, Kulshrestha et al., 2004, Wang et al., 2007, Pachauri et al., 2013). The atmospheric pollutants not only causes health hazards (Burkart et al., 2013, Roberts, 2013, Tao et al., 2014) but also displays its effects on meteorological parameters, such as, aerosol optical depth, mixed depth, air temperature, relative humidity and lapse rate before, during and after the day of festival. Attri et al. (2001) reported display of fireworks could produce ozone (O3), a strong and harmful oxidizing agent, at the ground level without the participation of NOx. Babu and Moorthy (2001) reported a three-fold increase in atmospheric black carbon (BC) in Thiruvananthapuram, India during Deepawali. In Hisar, India a study about the short term variation in air quality during Deepawali reported 2–10 times increase in concentrations of PM10, TSP (total suspended particulates), NO2 and SO2 over a typical winter day (Ravindra et al., 2003). Barman et al., 2008, Barman et al., 2009 reported the remarkable increase in PM2.5 concentration in Lucknow city due to firework activities during Deepawali festival. Effect of firework activities during this festival on surface ozone has also been reported in Delhi (Ganguly, 2009, Attri et al., 2001).
Kolkata, situated in the eastern part of India, is located near the world's largest delta of Ganges in Bay of Bengal. The ambient air quality over this region is severely affected due to the industrialization and urbanization with very high population density. The daily vehicular emissions results in the increase of atmospheric pollution with heavy particulate-loading (Chatterjee et al., 2013). However, Kolkata also receives pollutants from the coastal regions as well as oceanic sprays. Deepawali festival is also celebrated in Kolkata along with rest of India with great enthusiasm. Huge amount of crackers and sparklers are burnt mainly on the day of festival (Deepawali day) and also on the day before and the day after. A very few researchers have studied and published data regarding the effect of firework activities on aerosol and its several components during Deepawali festival over Kolkata and its adjoining areas (Thakur et al., 2010, Chatterjee et al., 2013). The purpose of this present study is to find out the short-term effects of the primary pollutants (NO2, SO2 and PM10) and secondary pollutants (BC, CO and surface O3) on the meteorological parameters, such as, air temperature, relative humidity, environmental lapse rate and visibility in air, during the Deepawali festival over Kolkata for the years 2012–2013. The long term variation of atmospheric pollutant concentrations are also studied during the period 2005–2013.
Section snippets
Data and methodology
The data for atmospheric pollution (NO2, SO2, PM10, CO and surface O3) over Kolkata (22°65′ N, 88°45′ E) (Fig. 1) during the Deepawali festival for the period 2005–2013, are obtained from West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB). A seven channel Aethalometer (Make: Magee Scientific, USA; Model: AE 31) has been continuously operated at the Institute of Radio Physics and Electronics, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, to measure the mass concentration of Black Carbon (BC) particles. An Automatic
Result and discussion
Our study indicates both long-term (2005–2013) and short-term (2012–2013) air quality variations during the Deepawali festival over Kolkata. The influence of the long-term as well as immediate short-term impact of ambient air quality during these celebrations on the environment and health of a well-being needs an effective scientific assessment about their ill effects.
Effect of atmospheric pollutants on meteorological parameters
Kolkata is ranked to be one of the most polluted megacities in India. The urban ambient air quality over the region is highly controlled by traffic, industry and human activities. The meteorological conditions are very significantly affected by dispersion, deposition and chemical conversion processes of air pollutants during the Deepawali period. In this section, a short-term analysis of the atmospheric pollutants has been made over Kolkata during the festival of the year 2012 and 2013 to show
Conclusion
The short-term study of the atmospheric pollutants over Kolkata during the Deepawali festival reveals a significant impact on the boundary layer meteorological parameters. Both average concentrations of the primary (NO2, SO2, PM10) and secondary (BC, CO, surface O3) air pollutants increased beyond the NAAQS limit during the three-day (before, on and after) Deepawali festival night compared to any normal day concentrations. The average concentration of each of these pollutants, particularly
Acknowledgement
This work has been supported by the grant from Department of Science and Technology, Government of India under the DST-PURSE programme (No. SR/S9/Z-23/2010/15) and “Studies on Aerosol Environment at Kolkata Located Near the Land–Ocean Boundary as a Part of ARFI Network under ISRO-GBP”, being carried out at Institute of Radio Physics and Electronics, University of Calcutta. The authors acknowledge with thanks the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB), Kolkata for providing us continuous
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