RELATIONSHIP OF FINE AND SUPERFINE PARTICULATE MATTER WITH PRECURSORS AND METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS AT AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION IN DELHI

Abstract

Traffic air pollution is a major concern in Delhi for health issues. The main cause of pollution in megacities like Delhi is due to large traffic exhausts and also due to the toxic wastes released by industries. Major pollutants mainly consist of particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5 and PM1), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and ozone (O3). Other reasons include change in weather patterns and climatic conditions with high or low wind speeds and mixing height which are responsible for air pollution and smog. This study presents an analysis and interpretation of the variations of 6-hr daily averages concentration taken for 50 days for particulate matter (PM1) measured at DTU Campus gate located at Shahbad Daulatpur near Bawana road, Delhi. The relationship of PM1 with PM2.5, PM10 and precursor gases namely NOx, CO, O3 and with the meteorological parameters (RH and AT) shows the different variations in its values. PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 are key polluting factors for Indian megacities. The location is of huge concern as one of the prestigious Universities in Delhi region is located nearby the road. As its location is just around the corner of North-West Delhi and also near to Bawana Industrial Area, so it becomes one of the roads which tends to receive heavy vehicles traffic during all day long due to which substantial amount of pollutants are released here into the environment. In this work, it is tried to explain “Relationship of Fine and Superfine Particulate Matter with Precursors and Meteorological Conditions at an Educational Institution in Delhi”. The selected location showed clear weekly, monthly or hourly variations at the monitoring site. The Particulate Matter data analysis showed average concentrations of PM (PM10 = 220.70, PM2.5 = 28.20, PM1 = 19.8 μg/m3), lowest concentrations of PM (PM10 = 11.0, PM2.5 = 5.0, PM1 = 0.8 μg/m3) and highest concentrations of PM (PM10 = 1000, PM2.5 = 265.0, PM1 = 254.2 μg/m3) during the summer and pre-monsoon season.