Critical Analysis of PM_2.5 in Delhi Region to Strategize Effective Air Pollution Management Plan

The fate of air pollution at any location calls for a critical knowledge of sources, its land-use attributes, and the prevailing meteorology. The accountability of all these ultimately enables air quality managers in sound decision making process for air quality assessment and management. The aim of this study is to assess the status of a critical pollutant (PM_2.5) at selected locations in Delhi city and the subsequent formulation of source-specific control measures considering the surrounding local activities. The study analyzed a robust three years dataset of PM_2.5 of seven stations located at institutional, residential, commercial and kerbside land-use types. Annual, seasonal, monthly and daily variations have been ascertained to determine variations in the activity profiles in terms of the activity types and their levels. The variations have been correlated with the likely sources found during field investigation. Further, a comparative analysis has been done by analyzing lockdown period data to evaluate the impact of restricted activities/sources. The study concludes by focusing on the need of development of source-specific interventions for effective air quality improvement.