Assessment of air quality after the implementation of compressed natural gas as fuel in transport in Delhi, India
Student name: Ms Sheeba Nagpal
Guide: Dr Prateek Sharma
Year of completion: 2015
Host Organisation: Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Dr Sanjeev Agrawal
Abstract: Rapid industrialization and urbanization along with population rise and increase in vehicular density that results in the air pollution in developing countries are some of the most important current challenges in the world. Policy intervention by the central government in 2001 of using compressed natural gas (CNG) in all public transport has been largely embraced as the panacea for improving the air quality in Delhi, India. In the present study, various criteria pollutant (SO2, NO2, SPM, CO and PM10) are assessed before and after the implementation of CNG as overall ambient air quality and seasonal variations of the criteria pollutants. A decreasing trend was found for SO2 and CO concentrations. The concentrations of NO2, SPM, PM10 and CO remained above the permissible limits set by NAAQS and showed no significant change. The seasonal analysis of the criteria pollutants reveals that due to limited dispersion of pollutants, relatively higher concentrations are found in the case of winter season while relatively lower concentrations are found in the case of monsoons due to the scavenging action of the rains.
Key words: Ambient Air Quality Status, Data Analysis, Criteria Pollutants, Air Pollution Control strategies, Policy Intervention Analysis, Seasonal variation.
