Impact of CRB on Production of Surface Ozone in Punjab Plains of North West Indo Gangetic Plains Development of Prediction Model using Statistical Approach

Abstract

Air quality is a complex function of emissions, meteorology and topography and a sound framework for the connection of these variables can be provided by statistical approaches. Among the most significant contributors of air pollution like automobiles, industries and domestic emissions, the post-harvest crop residue burning is an episodic contributor to the pollutants level in the IGP region. Rice and wheat are the major crop in the North-Western part of the country, which generate a large amount of leftover crop residue, intensified with the usage of mechanical combine harvester technology which is further, subjected to open field crop residue burning. Natural and anthropogenic activities emit aerosols and trace gases such as carbon monoxide (CO) and oxide of nitrogen (NOx), methane (CH4), total nonmethane (TNMHCs), which impart significant role in the lower atmosphere s reactivity. Meteorology, photochemistry, emissions, and deposition are the major factors that lead to production and accumulation of secondary pollutants like peroxy-acetyl nitrate (PAN) and surface ozone. This research provides a continuous in situ measurements of gaseous pollutants (surface O3, CO, NOx, MHC, TNMHCs), and meteorological variables (AT, SR, RH, WS and WD) for a time span of four years between 1st January 2013 to 31st December 2016, at a semi-urban site (Patiala) of North-West Indo-Gangetic Plains (NW-IGP). The meteorological impact on gaseous pollutant has been studied on a daily, monthly, seasonal and diurnal scale. The daily concentrations of gaseous pollutants like O3, CO, NOx, MHC, and TNMHCs ranged from 5 to 83 ppb, 0.01 to 2.6 ppm, 2.3 to 113.5 ppb, 562 to 3166 ppb and 27 to 413 ppb, respectively. The meteorological variables RH, SR, AT and WS range between 33.5 to 95.0 %, 68.0 to 378 W m-2, 8 to 38 °C and 0.05 to 7.85 m sec-1, respectively.