Current Science

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Impact Assessment of Change in Anthropogenic Emissions Due to Lockdown On Aerosol Characteristics In A Rural Location


Affiliations
1 Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, Chennai 603 103, India
2 Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, India
3 Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, India
 

Long-term and continuous measurements of aerosol concentration and optical properties from the Challakere Climate Observatory, located in a remote rural semi-arid region northwest of Bengaluru, are examined for the impact of the prolonged and phased national lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analyses revealed that the lockdown, which almost brought all the anthropogenic activities (particularly associated with fossil fuel use such as in transport and industrial sectors) to a standstill and then slowly relaxed in phases, had very little impact on the aerosol properties at this remote site, in sharp contrast to the impacts seen in the major urban conglomerate, Bengaluru, located about 230 km southeast to Challakere. Rather than impacts from anthropogenic sources associated with fossil fuel combustion, the aerosol characteristics at Challakere are strongly influenced by regional and synoptic meteorology. The findings re-emphasize that the emissions from fossil fuel combustion in industrial and automobile sector are the major source of aerosols (especially absorbing type) over urban and semi-urban environments.

Keywords

Anthropogenic Emissions, Black Carbon, COVID-19 Lockdown, Rural Aerosols, Scattering Coefficients, Single Scattering Albedo.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Babu, S. S. and Moorthy, K. K., Anthropogenic impact on aerosol black carbon mass concentration at a tropical coastal station: a case study. Curr. Sci., 2001, 81, 1208–1214.

  • Beegum, S. N. et al., Spatial distribution of aerosol black carbon over India during pre-monsoon season. Atmos. Environ., 2009, 43, 1071–1078.

  • Badarinath, K. V. S. et al., Variations in black carbon aerosol, carbon monoxide and ozone over an urban area of Hyderabad, India, during the forest fire season. Atmos. Res., 2007, 85, 18– 26.

  • Pathak, B. et al., Firework induced large increase in trace gases and black carbon at Dibrugarh, India. J. Earth Sci. Eng., 2013, 3, 540.

  • Gogoi, M. M., Bhuyan, P. K. and Krishna Moorthy, K., Possible impact of a major oil-well fire on aerosol optical depth at Dibrugarh. Curr. Sci., 2007, 92, 1047–1049.

  • Yerramsetti, V. S. et al., The impact assessment of Diwali fireworks emissions on the air quality of a tropical urban site, Hyderabad, India, during three consecutive years. Environ. Monitoring Assess., 2013, 185, 7309–7325.

  • Ganguly, N. D. et al., Analysis of a severe air pollution episode in India during Diwali festival – a nationwide approach. Atmósfera, 2019, 32, 225–236.

  • Latha, K. M., Badarinath, K. V. S. and Krishna Moorthy, K., Impact of diesel vehicular emissions on ambient black carbon concentration at an urban location in India. Curr. Sci., 2004, 86, 451–453.

  • Sharma, A. R., Shailesh, K. K. and Badarinath, K. V. S., Influence of vehicular traffic on urban air quality – a case study of Hyderabad, India. Transp. Environ., 2010, 15, 154–159.

  • Basagaña, X. et al., Effect of public transport strikes on air pollution levels in Barcelona (Spain). Sci. Total Environ., 2018, 610, 1076–1082.

  • Hansen, A. D. A., Rosen, H. and Novakov, T., Real-time measurement of the absorption coefficient of aerosol particles. Appl. Opt., 1982, 21, 3060–3062.

  • Hansen, A. D. A., Rosen, H. and Novakov, T., The aethalometer – an instrument for the real-time measurement of optical absorption by aerosol particles. Sci. Total Environ., 1984, 36, 191–196.

  • Bond, T. C., Anderson, T. L. and Campbell, D., Calibration and intercomparison of filter-based measurements of visible light absorption by aerosols. Aerosol Sci. Technol., 1999, 30, 582–600.

  • Kirchstetter, T. W., Novakov, T. and Hobbs, P. V., Evidence that the spectral dependence of light absorption by aerosols is affected by organic carbon. J. Geophys. Res., 2004, 109, D21208.

  • Sandradewi, J. et al., A study of wood burning and traffic aerosols in an Alpine valley using a multi-wavelength Aethalometer. Atmos. Environ., 2008a, 42, 101–112.

  • Sandradewi, J. et al., Using aerosol light absorption measurements for the quantitative determination of wood burning and traffic emission contributions to particulate matter. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2008b, 42, 3316–3323.

  • Drinovec, L. et al., The ‘dual-spot’ Aethalometer: an improved measurement of aerosol black carbon with real-time loading compensation. Atmos. Meas. Tech., 2015, 8, 1965.

  • Weingartner, E. et al., Absorption of light by soot particles: determination of the absorption coefficient by means of aethalometers. J. Aerosol Sci., 2003, 34, 1445–1463.

  • Kleidman, R. et al., New capability for in situ measurements of particulate matter using size-selecting Nephelometers as part of the SPARTAN network. AGUFM, 2018, A13I–2558.

  • Anderson, T. L. et al., Performance characteristics of a highsensitivity, three-wavelength, total scatter/backscatter nephelometer. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 1996, 13, 967–986.

  • Anderson, T. L. and Ogren, J. A., Determining aerosol radiative properties using the TSI 3563 integrating nephelometer. Aerosol Sci. Technol., 1998, 29, 57–69.

  • Anand, N. et al., Entanglement of near-surface optical turbulence to atmospheric boundary layer dynamics and particulate concentration: implications for optical wireless communication systems. Appl. Opt., 2020, 59, 1471–1483.

  • Ajay, A., Krishna Moorthy, K., Satheesh, S. K. and Ilavazhagan, G., Impact of lockdown-related reduction in anthropogenic emissions on aerosol characteristics in the megacity, Bengaluru. Curr. Sci., 2021, 120(2), 287–295.

  • Satheesh, S. K., Vinoj, V. and Krishna Moorthy, K., Radiative effects of aerosols at an urban location in southern India: observations versus model. Atmos. Environ., 2010, 44, 5295–5304.

  • Wiscombe, W. J. and Grams, G. W., The backscattered fraction in two-stream approximations. J. Atmos. Sci., 1976, 33, 2440–2451.

  • Andrews, E. et al., Comparison of methods for deriving aerosol asymmetry parameter. J. Geophys. Res., 2006, 111, D05S04.

  • Satheesh, S. K. et al., Unusual aerosol characteristics at Challakere in Karnataka. Curr. Sci., 2013, 104, 615.


Abstract Views: 362

PDF Views: 114




  • Impact Assessment of Change in Anthropogenic Emissions Due to Lockdown On Aerosol Characteristics In A Rural Location

Abstract Views: 362  |  PDF Views: 114

Authors

A. Ajay
Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, Chennai 603 103, India
K. Krishna Moorthy
Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, India
S. K. Satheesh
Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, India
G. Ilavazhagan
Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, Chennai 603 103, India

Abstract


Long-term and continuous measurements of aerosol concentration and optical properties from the Challakere Climate Observatory, located in a remote rural semi-arid region northwest of Bengaluru, are examined for the impact of the prolonged and phased national lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analyses revealed that the lockdown, which almost brought all the anthropogenic activities (particularly associated with fossil fuel use such as in transport and industrial sectors) to a standstill and then slowly relaxed in phases, had very little impact on the aerosol properties at this remote site, in sharp contrast to the impacts seen in the major urban conglomerate, Bengaluru, located about 230 km southeast to Challakere. Rather than impacts from anthropogenic sources associated with fossil fuel combustion, the aerosol characteristics at Challakere are strongly influenced by regional and synoptic meteorology. The findings re-emphasize that the emissions from fossil fuel combustion in industrial and automobile sector are the major source of aerosols (especially absorbing type) over urban and semi-urban environments.

Keywords


Anthropogenic Emissions, Black Carbon, COVID-19 Lockdown, Rural Aerosols, Scattering Coefficients, Single Scattering Albedo.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv120%2Fi2%2F332-340