Source attribution and mitigation strategies for air pollution in Delhi

Kiesewetter, G. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9369-9812, Purohit, P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7265-6960, Schöpp, W. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5990-423X, Liu, J., Amann, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1963-0972, & Bhanarkar, A. (2017). Source attribution and mitigation strategies for air pollution in Delhi. In: European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2017, 23–28 April 2017, Vienna, Austria.

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Abstract

Indian cities, and the megacity of Delhi in particular, have suffered from high air pollution for years. Recent observations show that ambient concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Delhi strongly exceed the Indian national ambient air quality standards as well as the World Health Organization’s interim target levels. At the same time, India is experiencing strong urbanization, and both Delhi’s emissions as well as the exposed population are growing. Therefore the question arises how PM2.5concentrations will evolve in the future, and how they can be improved efficiently.
In the past, typical responses of the Delhi government to high pollution episodes have been restrictions on motorized road traffic, on power plant operations and on construction activities. However, to design sustainable and efficient pollution mitigation measures, the contribution of different source sectors and spatial scales needs to be quantified. Here we combine the established emission calculation scheme of the Greenhouse Gas - Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies (GAINS) model with regional chemistry-transport model simulations (0.5◦resolution) as well as local particle dispersion (2×2km resolution) to arrive at a source attribution of ambient PM2.5in Delhi. Calculated concentrations compare well to observations. We find that roughly 60% of total population-weightedPM2.5originates from sources outside the national capital territory of Delhi itself. Consequently, mitigation strategies need to involve neighboring states and address the typical sources there. We discuss the likely evolution of ambient concentrations under different scenarios which assume either current emission control legislation, or application of a Clean Air Scenario foreseeing additional regulations in non-industrial sectors which are often overlooked, such as phase-out of solid fuel cook stoves, and road paving. Only in the case where the Clean Air Scenario is applied both in Delhi as well as in surrounding states, a strong reduction in ambient concentrations is envisaged which would bring PM2.5levels close to the WHO interim targets.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Research Programs:	Air Quality & Greenhouse Gases (AIR) Mitigation of Air Pollution (MAG)
Depositing User:	Luke Kirwan
Date Deposited:	13 Oct 2017 09:26
Last Modified:	27 Aug 2021 17:29
URI:	https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/14884

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