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Study of aerosol optical depth using satellite data (MODIS Aqua) over Indian Territory and its relation to particulate matter concentration

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Abstract

Air quality all over India has been deteriorated significantly over the last few decades, posing a significant risk to health-related issues like asthma and cardiorespiratory illness. Ground-based monitoring of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) in India is limited to few particular sites only; hence, health-related studies are restricted to regional scale only. Thus, the major aim of the present study is to estimate the local PM2.5 and PM10 mass concentration from the aerosol optical depth (AOD) level. AOD levels are determined from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard Earth Observing System Aqua satellites. Moreover, the annual, seasonal, and diurnal trend of AOD over India was also studied. Single and multiple linear regression models for estimating the concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were also conducted. Multiple regression analyses were performed considering MODIS-based AOD with meteorological parameters like temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, solar radiation, and precipitation. The results indicated that both the PM2.5 and PM10 had a weak correlation with MODIS-based AOD for simple linear regression model, whereas the regression coefficients improved significantly for multiple linear regression analyses. Thus, the proposed multiple linear regression models can be used in the estimation of PM2.5 and PM10 concentration in different parts of the country using MODIS image without ground monitoring. Therefore, the predicted results can help to perform the air pollution-related health impact studies all over the country.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are also thankful to Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi, for making air pollution data available on the website for public use, and to NASA, USA, for making MODIS satellite products available on the website.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Symbiosis Institute of Technology, Pune, Pune, 412115, India

    Neha Shaw

  2. Department of Mining Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha, 769008, India

    A. K. Gorai

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  1. Neha Shaw
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Correspondence to A. K. Gorai.

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Shaw, N., Gorai, A.K. Study of aerosol optical depth using satellite data (MODIS Aqua) over Indian Territory and its relation to particulate matter concentration. Environ Dev Sustain 22, 265–279 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-018-0198-8

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