An exploration of detrimental pollutants causing air pollution in India

Abstract

Air pollution is one of the most alarming environmental concerns for any developing countries as for example India where the quality of air is extremely poor and undefined. It has a significant role for human health and the environment. Poor air quality in India has resulted in the worst conditions in different cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru etc. The American Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified six pollutants which are known as “criteria'' pollutants. They include particle pollutants (PM), ground-level ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). However, the distribution and the intensity of these pollutants in terms of air quality classification are less known in India. My study investigated the temporal trends of these pollutants in different cities, and the most influential pollutants behind air quality prediction. A secondary dataset found on Kaggle, a data science platform, was used in this study. The study found that the particulate material (PM) was the most influential factors behind the air quality index. However, there was no clear pattern in air pollution concentration over the period from 2015 to 2020 but big cities were more polluted than the smaller. My study also shows the pre and post Covid effects on air pollution. The air pollution level has improved during the covid period because of the lockdown. During the lockdown period India’s government implemented many restrictions leading to an improved air quality.