Centre of Excellence in Ocean-Atmospheric Science and Technology (ACOAST) and Environmental Science and Health (ACESH), AUH organized a special campaign on Diwali observations- ‘Multi-Sensor Measurements of Rural Air Quality during Diwali 2022’ to investigate the impact of festivals on air quality from 22nd to 27th October 2022 at Climate Research Laboratory (CRL) & Air Quality Monitoring Station (AQMS), AUH, Gurugram. The coordinators of this campaign were Prof. Dr. P.C.S. Devara, Director & Professor, and Mr. S. Tiwari, Research Associate.
The main goal of the week-long Campaign was to look at how Diwali affected the air quality in relation to people's health. It is hoped that using the conclusions drawn from the various experimental and modelling approaches used in this campaign will aid in a better understanding of the role that additional toxic energy supplied to the earth's atmospheric system and its transport through harmful emissions plays in modulating local/regional weather and climate change.
4 experiments were conducted for this research-
· Round-the-clock synchronous 16 primary & secondary air pollutants, and 6 meteorological parameters measured during 22-27 October 2022, encompassing pre- (22-23) during (24-25) and post-(26-27) Diwali festival, employing the Air Quality Monitoring and Diagnosis System (AQMS), AUH Campus. Columnar optical depths of Aerosol and precursor gas constituents (water vapor) up to stratospheric altitudes using the NASA-AERONET Sun-Sky Radiometer. Surface-level Black/Elemental Carbon (BC) aerosol mass concentration (in micro-gram per cubic meter) and Biomass Burning (BB, in per cent) observations using the Multi-Spectral Dual-Spot Aethalometer. Tri-Wavelength Integrating Polar Nephelometer observations of Atmospheric Opacity (Visibility).
During the period of 22–27 October 2022, it was noted that the AQMS was operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and that high-resolution observations of surface-level Particulate Matter (PM1, PM2.5, and PM10), CO, CO2, NO, NO2, NH3, SO2, O3, and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) as well as surface-level meteorological parameters (Temperature, Wind Speed, Wind Direction, Relative Humidity Data on aerosol optical depth, aerosol size distribution, single scattering albedo, asymmetry parameter, refractive index (both real and imaginary), and radiative forcing have been collected at 15-minute intervals using the NASA-AERONET Sun-Sky Radiometer. The Polar Nephelometer and Aethalometer have been used to measure visibility and the aerosols' one-minute interval air scattering/absorption properties. Here, certain noteworthy findings have been highlighted. A thorough study of these data sets is being conducted.
Diwali-2022 is not an exception to it, but the local wind unexpectedly became strong and its direction changed from northwestern (NW) to southwestern (SW), which aided in the dispersion of pollutants. This year's average AQI value (312) was lower than the values in 2020 and 2021, which were 414 and 382, respectively. The size of BC and BB particles is comparable to that of PM2.5, and they exhibit similar mutual fluctuations. The change in the direction of the surface-level wind from the NW to the SW is blamed for the lower ground-level PM values and higher columnar aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements made during the Diwali holiday on October 24 and 25, 2022.
The reduction in air pollution, especially on this year’s Diwali day could be due to
· early occurrence of the festival, much prior to the winter season
· strict ban by the Government on firing of crackers
· less stubble burning activity in the Punjab and Haryana States.
However, this year's Diwali in Delhi and the surrounding areas had unusually good air quality, which was further confirmed by a spike in pollution levels discovered during the days before and after Diwali with the change in meteorological conditions. These changes matched those seen in the concentrations of primary and secondary pollutants over Panchgaon, a rural station in the Haryana State, the study area. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) and aerosol size distribution (ASD), which were inferred from NASA-AERONET, are discovered to be in agreement with data received from the MODIS satellite. The variations in PM and AOD values throughout the course of the research period also shown a strong link with the fire images captured by the MODIS and VIIRS satellites over the Panchgaon region.
The Technical & Legal Response to the First Examination Report (FER) on the Patent titled "Transient Analysis of Air Quality Drivers" # 201711032723, of Prof. Dr. P.C.S. Devara and Mr. Munshi Pavel Alam, has been submitted.