Studies on Interrelations among SO₂, NO₂ and PM₁₀ Concentrations and Their Predictions in Ambient Air in Kolkata

Sayanti Kar, Phalguni Mukherjee

Department of Environmental Studies, Women’s Christian College, Kolkata, India.
Department of Mathematics and Post Graduate Department of Environmental Science, Asutosh College, Kolkata, India.

DOI: 10.4236/ojap.2012.12006                

Abstract

In this paper we have first of all studied the interrelations among the concentrations of SO₂, NO₂ and PM₁₀ and then predicted their future level of concentrations in the ambient air of Kolkata. The data collected from West Bengal Pollution Control Board website have been used to construct second degree, third degree and four degree polynomial equations using MATLAB software. Since a curve in a small interval can be approximated by a line segment in that small interval, we have observed that better result can be achieved if we replace the curves piece meal wise in small intervals by line segments during January-April, May-August and September-December months. The multiple regression equations among the aforesaid three parameters have been established to predict the value of each parameter in terms of the remaining two. A further improvement in terms of reducing the number of dependent variables has been made using the results of correlation coefficients. Finally, we have predicted the value of each parameter in terms of only one dependent variable.

Keywords

Ambient Air; Multiple Correlation-Coefficients; Kolkata

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	D. Majumdar, A. K. Mukherjee and S. Sen, “BTEX in Ambient Air of a Metropolitan City,” Journal of Enviornmental Protection, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2011, pp. 11-20. doi:10.4236/jep.2011.21002
[2]	A. B. Chelani and S. Devotta, “Non-Linear Analysis and Prediction of Coarse Particulate Matter Concentration in Ambient Air,” Journal of Air and Waste Management Association, Vol. 56, No. 1, 2006, pp. 78-84.
[3]	“Air Quality Status for Ten Cities of India, for 1999 & 2000,” National Environmental Research Institute, Nagpur, 2011.
[4]	Website of National Ambient Air Quality Standard, “Central Pollution Control Board; Ministry of Environment and Forests,” India. http://cpcb.nic.in/National_Ambient_Air_Quality_Standards.php
[5]	Mrinal K.Ghosh, “Air Pollution in the City of Kolkata: Health Effects due to Chronic Exposure,” Environmental Quality Management. doi:10.1002/tqem/Winter
[6]	C. H. Lai and K. S. Chen, “Characteristic of C2-C15 Hydrocarbons in the Air of Urban Kaohsiung,” Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 38, No. 13, 2004, pp. 1997-2011. doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2003.11.041.
[7]	X. Wang, S. Guo, J. Fu, C. Chan, S. C. Lee, L. Y. Chan and Z. Wang, “Urban Roadside Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Three Cities of the Pearl River Delta, People’s Repub-lic of China,” Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 36, No. 33, 2002, pp. 5141-5148. doi:10.1016/S1352-2310(02)00640-4
[8]	E. Ilgen, N. Karfich, K. Levsen, J. Angerer, P. Schneider, J. Heinrich, H. E. Wichmann, L. Dunemann and J. Begerow, “Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Atmospheric Environment: Part I. Indoor Versus Outdoor Sources, the Influence of Traffic,” Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 35, No. 7, 2001, pp. 1235-1252. doi:10.1016/S1352-2310(00)00388-5
[9]	West Bengal Pollution Control Board, “Rising up to the occasion,” Department of Information & Cultural Affairs Government of West Bengal Writers’ Buildings, Kolkata, 2006.
[10]	Website of Daily Ambient Air quality Information of West Bengal. http://emis.wbpcb.gov.in/airquality/citizenreport.do