Issue 12, 2022

Air quality trends in rural India: analysis of NO2 pollution using satellite measurements

Abstract

India is a country with more than 67% of its population (947 million) residing in rural areas and 33% in urban areas (472 million) as of 2020. Therefore, health of the people living in rural India is very important for its future development plans, economy and growth. Here, we analyse the rural air quality using satellite measurements of NO2 in India, as the sources of NO2 are well connected to the industrial and economic uplift of a nation. Our analyses for the rural regions show distinct seasonal changes with the highest value (2.0 × 1015 molecules per cm2) in winter and the lowest in monsoon (1.5 × 1015 molecules per cm2) seasons. About 41% of the total NO2 pollution in India is from its rural sources, but 59% of the urban sources were focused in the past studies. In addition, around 45% of the rural NO2 pollution is due to road transport, whereas more than 90% of it in urban India comes from the power sector. Our assessment shows that the NO2 exposure in rural regions is as serious as that in urban areas, indicating the need for more effective reduction of population exposure and protection of public health. Henceforth, this study reveals that rural India is gradually getting polluted from its nearby regions as well as from the new sources within. This is a big concern for the public health of the large rural population of India.

Graphical abstract: Air quality trends in rural India: analysis of NO2 pollution using satellite measurements

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
11 Jul 2022
Accepted
31 Okt 2022
First published
01 Nov 2022

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2022,24, 2437-2449

Air quality trends in rural India: analysis of NO2 pollution using satellite measurements

M. Pathak and J. Kuttippurath, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2022, 24, 2437 DOI: 10.1039/D2EM00293K

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