Air Pollution | 23 May 2023

Why in News?

Recently, a research has been published in the journal Nature titled- “Machine learning-based country-level annual air pollutants exploration using Sentinel-5P and Google Earth Engine”, showing that, during 2018-2021, India witnessed the maximum levels of human-induced Air Pollution.

What Methodology did the Researchers Use?

• Researchers carried out machine learning‑based country‑level annual air pollution monitoring using Sentinel‑5P satellite and Google Earth Engine (GEE).
  • Sentinel-5P satellite is a European satellite tracking the levels of air pollutants around the world.
• While Sentinel-5P monitored the atmospheric air pollutants and chemical conditions (from 2018-21), the cloud computing-based GEE platform was used to analyse the two factors.

What are the Findings of the Study?

• Air Quality Index:
  • The years 2020 and 2021 saw drastic changes in Air Quality Index (AQI), whereas 2018 and 2019 saw low AQI throughout the year.
    • AQI has been developed for eight pollutants viz. PM2.5, PM10, Ammonia, Lead, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, ozone, and carbon monoxide.
  • Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune and Chennai recorded huge fluctuations in terms of air pollution during the study period.
  • High levels of nitrogen dioxide were observed in seven AQI monitoring stations of Kolkata: 102 in 2018, 48 in 2019, 26 in 2020 and 98 in 2021.
    • Delhi also recorded high NO2 variations; 99 in 2018, 49 in 2019, 37 in 2020), and 107 in 2021.
• Causes:
  • This period, traversing the three phases of the Covid-19 Pandemic (pre, during and post), saw a surge in air pollution owing to the development of transportation, industrial power plants, green space dynamics and unplanned urbanization in the country.
  • Anthropogenic actions are the foremost reason for climatic conditions and atmospheric changes, and India is the country most affected by such activities.
  • In terms of rural air pollution, agricultural waste burning is also the main reason.
• Implications:
  • Anthropogenic activities in India are causing an increase in health problems and pollution-related diseases such as Asthma, Respiratory disease, Lung cancer, and skin-related diseases. The main pollutants of concern are NO2, carbon monoxide, ozone, sulphur dioxide, and methane.
  • Air pollution and extreme weather conditions are interconnected. Air pollutants like Methane, Ozone, and aerosols affect sunlight.
  • The discharge of high voltage electricity has transformed oxygen into ozone, leading to depletion of the ozone layer and increased penetration of ultraviolet rays.
• Recommendations:
  • Awareness and planning are much needed for protecting the environment.
  • Proper planning, management and development strategies can help protect the environment.

Source: DTE