The impact assessment of Diwali fireworks emissions on the air quality of a tropical urban site, Hyderabad, India, during three consecutive years

Environ Monit Assess (2013) 185:73097325 DOI 10.1007/s10661-013-3102-x

The impact assessment of Diwali fireworks emissionson the air quality of a tropical urban site, Hyderabad, India, during three consecutive years

Venkata Swamy Yerramsetti & Anu Rani Sharma &

Nikhil Gauravarapu Navlur & Venkanna Rapolu &

N. S. K. Chitanya Dhulipala & P. R. Sinha

Received: 15 June 2012 /Accepted: 16 January 2013 /Published online: 12 February 2013 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Abstract Diwali is one of the largest festivals for Hindu religion which falls in the period October November every year. During the festival days, extensive burning of firecrackers takes place, especially in the evening hours, constituting a significant source of aerosols, black carbon (BC), organics, and trace gases. The widespread use of sparklers was found to be associated with short-term air quality degradation events. The present study focuses on the influence of Diwali fireworks emissions on surface ozone (O3),

nitrogen oxides (NOx), and BC aerosol concentration over the tropical urban region of Hyderabad, India during three consecutive years (20092011). The trace gases are analyzed for pre-Diwali, Diwali, and post-Diwali days in order to reveal the festivitys contribution to the ambient air quality over the city. A twofold to threefold increase is observed in O3, NOx, and

BC concentrations during the festival period compared to control days for 20092011, which is mainly

attributed to firecrackers burning. The high correlation coefficient (~0.74) between NOx and SO2 concentrations and higher SO2/NOx (S/N) index suggested air quality degradation due to firecrackers burning. Furthermore, the CloudAerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation-derived aerosol sub-typing map also confirmed the presence of smoke aerosols emitted from firecrackers burning over the region. Nevertheless, the concentration level of pollutants exhibited substantial decline over the region during the years 2010 and 2011 compared to 2009 ascribed to various awareness campaigns and increased cost of firecrackers.

Keywords Diwali . Fireworks . Trace gases . Air quality. Pollution

Introduction

Air quality in megacities and other major population centers is a serious concern due to their high pollutant concentrations and health hazards. In recent times, short-term air quality degradation episodes are gaining increased attention of the scientific community as they considerably affect human health due to their long-term negative effects (Pope et al. 2002; Nastos et al....