Abstract
PM2.5/PM10 ratio is essential for understanding particulate pollution’s severity and adverse effects on human beings as it reveals how long the particle will stay in the atmosphere and where it will deposit in the human respiratory tract. The present study focuses on the spatio-temporal variability of the PM2.5/PM10 ratio from nine sites (six in Delhi, one each in Amritsar, Varanasi and Kolkata) in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) during the last 3 years (2019–2021) before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown in India. Robust statistics such as median and percentiles have been employed to avoid bias due to non-normal distributions. Considerable spatial and temporal variability was seen throughout the 3 years. Amritsar and one site in Delhi exhibited the least temporal variability in PM2.5/PM10 (~ 10%) annually. However, the highest average variation over the 3 years was ~ 28%, noticed for one site in Delhi. The PM2.5/PM10 ratio was high (~ 0.6 ± 0.1) during the post-monsoon (Oct–Dec) and winter (Jan–Feb) seasons. The PM2.5/PM10 ratio was low (~ 0.4 ± 0.1) in the monsoon season (June–Sep.) and pre-monsoon season (Mar–May). Conditional Bivariate Probability Function (CBPF) and Cluster Analysis using Hysplit data were done to assess the local and long-range source of pollutants arriving at a receptor location. The impact of wind speed and relative humidity on the PM2.5/PM10 ratio was also analysed. The results of this study would help establish an intricate policy framework for cities in the IGP.
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Data Availability
The data used in this study were obtained from https://app.cpcbccr.com/ccr/#/caaqm-dashboard-all/caaqm-landing.
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The authors are grateful to the Central Pollution Control Board and other pollution control boards of India for making the CAAQMS data readily and easily accessible.
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LS worked on the methodology, analysis, validation, visualisation and interpretation of results, writing—original draft. AR worked on methodology, writing—original draft. LG worked on conceptualisation, methodology, validation, visualisation and interpretation of results, writing—review and editing. All authors reviewed the manuscript.
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Sethi, L., Gupta, L. & Raj, A. Three-Year-Long PM2.5/PM10 Ratio at Nine Sites in the Most Polluted Region in India. Aerosol Sci Eng 7, 396–414 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41810-023-00189-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41810-023-00189-2