Investigating the association between air pollutants’ concentration and meteorological parameters in a rapidly growing urban center of West Bengal, India: a statistical modeling-based approach

Abstract

The ambient air quality in a city is heavily influenced by meteorological conditions. The city of Siliguri, known as the “Gateway of Northeast India”, is a major hotspot of air pollution in the Indian state of West Bengal. Yet almost no research has been done on the possible impacts of meteorological factors on criterion air pollutants in this rapidly growing urban area. From March 2018 to September 2022, the present study aimed to determine the correlations between meteorological factors, including daily mean temperature (℃), relative humidity (%), rainfall (mm), wind speed (m/s) with the concentration of criterion air pollutants (PM 2.5 , PM 10 , NO 2 , SO 2 , CO, O 3 , and NH 3 ). For this research, the trend of all air pollutants over time was also investigated. The Spearman correlation approach was used to correlate the concentration of air pollutants with the effect of meteorological variables on these pollutants. Comparing the multiple linear regression (MLR) and non-linear regression (MLNR) models permitted to examine the potential influence of meteorological factors on concentrations of air pollutants. According to the trend analysis, the concentration of NH3 in the air of Siliguri is rising, while the concentration of other pollutants is declining. Most pollutants showed a negative correlation with meteorological variables; however, the seasons impacted on how they responded. The comparative regression research results showed that although the linear and non-linear models performed well in predicting particulate matter concentrations, they performed poorly in predicting gaseous contaminants. When considering seasonal fluctuations and meteorological parameters, the results of this research will definitely help to increase the accuracy of air pollution forecasting near future.

Evaluation of Urban Sustainability through Perceived Importance, Performance, Satisfaction and Loyalty: An Integrated IPA–SEM-Based Modelling Approach

“…Residents may have become acclimated to the city's water, air, and noise pollution, or consider these problems unavoidable in an urban environment, which is one explanation for this conclusion. This is consistent with earlier studies that identified environmental pollution as a significant issue in Siliguri [39,[99][100][101]. However, addressing environmental pollution is essential for ensuring sustainable growth and raising the standard of living for locals.…”

“…Conversely, the outcomes pertaining to environmental contamination exhibit a degree of unexpectedness [40]. The absence of a noteworthy correlation between pollution and contentment may be attributed to diverse factors, including the residents' acquiescence to specific degrees of pollution as a compromise for inhabiting an urban setting [37,100,101]. This offers a prospect to explore the psychological and social factors that could potentially impact the perceptions and attitudes of inhabitants towards pollution.…”

“…Although this study contributes substantially to the practical and theoretical understanding of urban sustainability, it is not exempt from certain limitations. The generalizability of the study is limited due to its exclusive focus on Siliguri City [38,100,101]. Furthermore, there can be substantial variations in cultural, socio-economic, and governance contexts, even within a single nation.…”

Community Health Risk Awareness and Knowledge of Air Pollution in Annadale, Polokwane Local Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa

“… 3 It is estimated that in India there were about 1.1 million preventable fatalities that were reported in 2017 due to exposure to air pollution of which 56% fatalities were due to outdoor PM2.5 and 44% indoor air pollution. 4 Indoor air pollution are pollutants not only generated from indoor sources but are transported indoor through ventilation and openings of the buildings. 5 Outdoor air pollution is the mixture of pollutants emanating from natural and anthropogenic sources such as industrial activities, power generation, domestic heating, cooking, and transportation.…”

İklimsel Değişkenlerin Partikül Madde ve Kükürt Dioksit Üzerindeki Etkisi

“…There have been many studies about the influence of climate variables on air pollutants i.e. particulate matter and sulphur dioxide [38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47]. In another research, a relationship was found between sulphur dioxide and some climate elements [48].…”