Details of the study were published in a paper titled ‘A Deep Insight into State-Level Aerosol Pollution in India: Long-Term (2005-2019) Characteristics, Source Segmentation, and Future Projections (2023)’ in a journal of the Elsevier group. was.
The details of the study were published in a paper titled ‘Title’. A deeper insight into state-level aerosol pollution in India: Long term (2005–2019) characteristics, source segmentation, and future projection (2023) in a journal by Elsevier Group
A recent study by scientists at the Bose Institute in Kolkata showed that aerosol pollution in West Bengal is projected to increase by 8% and will remain in the “highly vulnerable” red zone for aerosol pollution. This is the second highest estimated aerosol pollution level in the country after Bihar.
The details of the study were published in a paper titled ‘Title’. A deeper insight into state-level aerosol pollution in India: Long term (2005–2019) characteristics, source segmentation, and future projection (2023) in a journal by Elsevier Group.
Abhijit Chatterjee, associate professor of environmental science at the Bose Institute and Ph.D. Scholar Monami Dutta provides a national landscape of aerosol pollution with long-term (2005–2019) trends, source segmentation and future scenarios (2023) for different Indian states.
High aerosol amounts include particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10) among other pollutants, as well as sea salt, dust, black and organic carbon. They can be harmful to people’s health if inhaled. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) is a quantitative estimate of aerosols present in the atmosphere and can be used as a proxy measure of PM. 2.5,
“The average AOD over the long-term period 2005-2019 shows high values (>0.65) on the IGP (Indo Gangetic Plain) … West Bengal and Bihar are the two states in IGP showing the highest rate of AOD growth ( ~0.015 yr−1) in westernmost Rajasthan, northernmost Jammu and Kashmir, and most northeastern parts of India exhibited the slowest rate of AOD increase,” the paper stated.
A value of AOD between 0 and 1.0 indicates a crystal-clear sky with maximum visibility while a value of 1 indicates very dim conditions. AOD value less than 0.3 comes under Green Zone (Safe), 0.3-0.4 is Blue Zone (Less Vulnerable), 0.4-0.5 is Orange (Vulnerable) while more than 0.5 is Red Zone (Highly Vulnerable).
“Due to its strategic location, West Bengal receives air pollution outflows from the Indo-Gangetic Plain and its local emissions have put West Bengal in a highly vulnerable area. West Bengal is already in a highly vulnerable area; Abhijit Chatterjee, lead author of this study, said that a modest increase (an estimated increase in AOD of about 8%) can have devastating effects on the health and lives of people living in this state.
Monami Dutta, the first author of the study and senior research fellow at the Bose Institute, Kolkata, said that Among the major aerosol pollution sources for West Bengal, from 2005 to 2014, vehicular emissions (40–42%) remained the top source of pollution in the state’s major cities, followed by vehicular dust (18–20). %) and burning solid fuel. (13-15%).
Ms Dutta said that from 2015 to 2019, burning of solid fuels (35%) became the major emission source, while the contribution of vehicular emissions (18%) declined the least. “The reason for the decline in vehicular emissions may be due to the introduction of Euro-IV fuel standards and upgrades to engines, a ban on 15-year vehicles, etc. At the same time, vehicular dust was replaced by construction-driven dust. which is the result of more urbanization,” she said.
The researcher said that the dominance of solid fuel burning in recent years may be due to unregistered and high number of roadside eateries, restaurants etc in major cities of West Bengal.
The study suggests that future projections clearly show that central, coastal and southern India will become highly vulnerable in 2023 if the respective sources dominate. “Only by reducing thermal power plant emissions can effectively reduce aerosol pollution and shift vulnerable states to safer and less vulnerable (states),” the paper said.