Spatiotemporal variation of atmospheric pollution and its plausible sources in an industrial populated city, Bay of Bengal, Paradip, India

Abstract

This study examines the possible sources of ambient pollutants and seasonal variations within the nine selected stations, including the residential, commercial, and industrial sites from January 2016 to December 2018 in Paradip city. The particulate matter (PM) like PM10 and PM2.5 and gaseous pollutants like sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ammonia (NH3) samples were collected in four different seasons such as pre-monsoon, monsoon, post-monsoon, and winter. The seasonal average concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 showed the highest levels in winter and the lowest in monsoon. The seasonal average concentrations of SO2, NO2, and NH3 were within the permissible limits at all the sites. The seasonal air quality index (AQI) shows that industrial sites were under the severe air pollution category in the winter season while all residential and commercial sites (except AG) under the light air pollution category in all seasons. The correlation such as, PM10 with PM2.5 and SO2 with NO2, showed a significant positive relation in all seasons. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified two major factors, with a total variance of 47.995% and 25.821%, respectively. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was used to explain the pollutants dispersion and spatial variations.