Spatio-Temporal analysis of sensor based air pollutants in Raipur city, India

Abstract

Introduction: Particulate matter pollutants and gaseous pollutants are some of the most hazardous pollutants released into the atmosphere. In order to determine how these pollutants impact the living being at breathing height, the current study measures these pollutants using wireless sensors at a height of 1 m above the ground.

Materials and methods: In this study, horizontal monitoring of the air pollutants using wireless sensors at twenty-four locations covering four zones including industrial, residential, public-place and transportation of the Raipur city has been evaluated. Spatial variation has been obtained using Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) method in Geographic Information System (GIS).

Results: The obtained results indicate that as compared to the monsoon and post-monsoon seasons, the concentrations of air pollutants are highest in the winter. It was observed that Particulate Matters (PM2.5 and PM10) are the main causes of declining air quality, but Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and Sulfur dioxide (SO2) concentrations were below Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) guidelines except for NO2 in winter. The Carbon monoxide (CO) concentration has been above the standard limit in all three seasons. The main finding of this study is to evaluate how air contaminants vary in space and time near the ground surface which is not possible through the static monitoring instruments in the study area.

Conclusion: The primary benefit of the obtained results is their great resolution in a compact area, effectively addressing the air quality issue. The findings suggest that seasonality has a substantial impact on the amount of pollutants in the city. According to the temporal distributions of the air pollutants, monsoon had the best air quality, followed by post-monsoon while the winter season has the highest concentration of pollution.