Investigation of Air Quality and Assessment in Srinagar City

Abstract

Air pollution in the aerospace is increasing at a rapid rate from numerous sources, depending upon their location, pollution rates may alter from area to area. Many factors contribute to increasing pollution levels, such as mass production, which is necessary for the development, over usage of natural reserves and expanding populace. High pollution rates are not only responsible for deteriorating environmental health, but also for the health of people. Many cardiac, as well as pulmonary diseases, are growing at a much faster rate because of increasing levels of pollution. The research was conducted in Srinagar city to investigate the air quality of this place. The samples were collected at two different places in Srinagar city. For PM_2.5, samples were collected from Rajbagh and Jahangir Chowk and for SO₂ and NO_x; samples were collected from the Rajbagh area of Srinagar. During the research, the samples were taken monthly and investigated for NO_x, SO_x and particulate matter. This was the first time that analysis for NO_x and SO_x was conducted in Kashmir. The concentration of PM_2.5 as per yearly average is mostly seen up. Also, it has been seen that the concentration of PM_2.5 in the Rajbagh area of Srinagar is less in contrary to the Jahangir Chowk area. Jahangir Chowk is a commercial area, the main reason for high pollution levels can be transportation i.e. the vehicular movement is more than Rajbagh, which is a residential area. Also, the road condition at Jahangir Chowk is no good, resulting in the rise of dust in the atmosphere thus, leading to the rise of PM_2.5. The concentration of NO_x is seen to be lower as compared to the permissible limit and that of SO_x is also fairly low. The overall air quality of Rajbagh was seen as fairly moderate than that of Jahangir Chowk.