Impacts of household sources on air pollution at village and regional scales in India

Abstract

Abstract. Approximately 3 billion people worldwide cook with solid fuels, such as wood, charcoal, and agricultural residues. These fuels, also used for residential heating, are often combusted in inefficient devices, producing carbonaceous emissions. Between 2.6 and 3.8 million premature deaths occur as a result of exposure to fine particulate matter from the resulting household air pollution (Health Effects Institute, 2018a; World Health Organization, 2018). Household air pollution also contributes to ambient air pollution; the magnitude of this contribution is uncertain. Here, we simulate the distribution of the two major health-damaging outdoor air pollutants (PM2.5 and O3) using state-of-the-science emissions databases and atmospheric chemical transport models to estimate the impact of household combustion on ambient air quality in India. The present study focuses on New Delhi and the SOMAARTH Demographic, Development, and Environmental Surveillance Site (DDESS) in the Palwal District of Haryana, located about 80 km south of New Delhi. The DDESS covers an approximate population of 200 000 within 52 villages. The emissions inventory used in the present study was prepared based on a national inventory in India (Sharma et al., 2015, 2016), an updated residential sector inventory prepared at the University of Illinois, updated cookstove emissions factors from Fleming et al. (2018b), and PM2.5 speciation from cooking fires from Jayarathne et al. (2018). Simulation of regional air quality was carried out using the US Environmental Protection Agency Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system (CMAQ) in conjunction with the Weather Research and Forecasting modeling system (WRF) to simulate the meteorological inputs for CMAQ, and the global chemical transport model GEOS-Chem to generate concentrations on the boundary of the computational domain. Comparisons between observed and simulated O3 and PM2.5 levels are carried out to assess overall airborne levels and to estimate the contribution of household cooking emissions. Observed and predicted ozone levels over New Delhi during September 2015, December 2015, and September 2016 routinely exceeded the 8 h Indian standard of 100 µg m−3, and, on occasion, exceeded 180 µg m−3. PM2.5 levels are predicted over the SOMAARTH headquarters (September 2015 and September 2016), Bajada Pahari (a village in the surveillance site; September 2015, December 2015, and September 2016), and New Delhi (September 2015, December 2015, and September 2016). The predicted fractional impact of residential emissions on anthropogenic PM2.5 levels varies from about 0.27 in SOMAARTH HQ and Bajada Pahari to about 0.10 in New Delhi. The predicted secondary organic portion of PM2.5 produced by household emissions ranges from 16 % to 80 %. Predicted levels of secondary organic PM2.5 during the periods studied at the four locations averaged about 30 µg m−3, representing approximately 30 % and 20 % of total PM2.5 levels in the rural and urban stations, respectively.

Exceedances and trends of particulate matter (PM2.5) in five Indian megacities

“…Rural households in India rely on kerosene for light in the absence of electricity, and on wood, dung, and other solid fuels for cooking and heating ( Chowdhury et al, 2019 ; Ravindra et al, 2019c ). Use of these fuels emit particles, gaseous pollutants, and volatile organic compounds, and therefore are a significant source of secondary particulate matter in both rural and urban areas ( Pervez et al, 2019 ; Rooney et al, 2019 ). In addition to household and traffic emissions, open waste burning is also a significant contributor to the total PM 2.5 in Indian cities ( Guttikunda et al, 2019 ; Kumari et al, 2019 ).…”

Drivers of improved PM 2.5 air quality in China from 2013 to 2017

“…Last but not least, many developing countries are now suffering similar air pollution problems following rapid economic development. For example, rising emissions from coal and vehicles are mixed with biomass-burning plumes in India and Southeast Asia (17, 45, 46). Our measure-specific analysis sheds light on developing effective clean air policies in these countries.…”

The atmospheric chemistry of indoor environments

“…Another issue is that there is clear evidence that emissions of chemical consumer products and indoor cooking have a direct impact on outdoor air. 7,8 What chemistry occurs with these compounds before they are transported outdoors? There are many similar issues that the outdoor atmospheric chemistry community with expertise on short-lived and reactive species can help address.…”