Analysis of Air quality trend over Delhi using

Met. Visibility, Satellites and CPCB Data and

their impact on its Climates

Dr. Rajendra Kumar Jenamani

India Meteorological
Department
IGI Airport, New Delhi

Objectives
Analysis of Air quality trend over Delhi (CNG)

Met. Visibility and Fog data (Aviation data)

CPCB Data
Analysis of Impact

On Climates
Except meteorological parameters, Pollution is the other important
parameters causing Increasing Fog hours
Both increasing pollutions and increasing fog hours have caused
decreasing Trend in Maximum Temperature because of dimming
trend of Sunlight over Delhi than brightening trend as happens
elsewhere in the West

CPCB
ANNUAL/MONTHLY TREND
POLLUTION
OF CNG DELHI

Annual mean concentration range

g/m3

38
33
28
23
18
13

5-yearly running means SO2

5-yearly running means NO2
SO2
NO2

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

1996

SPM

1995

1994

1993

1992

1991

1990

1989

1988

1987

Annual mean concentration range

g/m3
600

550
5-Yearly running means

500

450

400

350

300

Linking Trend of Fog hours with Pollutions

TABLETABLE-6
CC OF JANUARY FOG WITH POLLUTION DATA
CC with SO2

CC with NO2

CC with SPM

<50M

-0.232

0.347&

-0.212

<200M

-0.196

0.444$

-0.23

<500M

-0.074

0.58**
0.58**

-0.141

<1000M

-0.048

0.494#

-0.034

>5 KM

0.127

-0.138

-0.277

IMPACT-PART I
DELHI

Variation and Linear Trend Analysis of monthly average Maximum and Minimum Temperature
of IGI and Safdarjung Airport

Linking Trend of Fog hours and

Temperature

TABLETABLE-3 : CC between Average Fog hours per day in the month and monthly
monthly Average Max./Min. Temp. for the
period 19811981-2003 at Safdarjung Airport and IGI Airport. *, **, #, $, & indicates significance of CC at diferent %
levels of confidence

January
Maximum

IGI Airport
Safdrajung

Minimum

<50M

<200M

<500M

<1000M

<50M

<200M

<500M

<1000M

-0.52**

-0.58*

-0.57*

-0.54*

0.08

-0.01

-0.01

-0.1

-0.54*

-0.57*

-0.55*

-0.52**

0.04

-0.07

-0.24

-0.42#

December
Maximum

IGI Airport
Safdrajung

Minimum

<50M

<200M

<500M

<1000M

<50M

<200M

<500M

<1000M

-0.33&

-0.47#

-0.49**

-0.26

0.14

0.17

0.16

0.06

-0.34&

-0.47#

-0.48#

-0.25

0.03

0.09

-0.07

-0.27

* Indicates >99.5%, ** indicates >99%, # indicates 97.5%, $ indicates >95%, & indicates >90%

IGI M ax. Temp with V> =3000M

SFD M ax with V> =3000m
IGI M ax. with V<1000m
Significant >90%level

Years

IGI M in. with V> =3000m

SFD M in with V>= 3000m
SFD M ax. with V< 1000m

2003

2001

1999

1997

1995

1993

1991

1989

1987

1985

1983

1981

Correlation Coefficients

0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
-0.1
-0.2
-0.3
-0.4
-0.5
-0.6

Conclusions

Met. Visibility record at IGI Airport of Delhi shows deterioration

of Air cleanness in last 40- years

It shows occurrences of reducing visibility 200m or less due
due to the Intense fog events over IGI airport have been
increased by 7-10 times from mid 1960s till recent for
December

While their frequencies has been increased up to 20-times in
January.

In contrast, because of presence of haze/smoke/ fog/ pollutions
etc., study of trends of number of hours per day with visibility
reaching more than 5000m over the IGI at airport shows it was
highest in the start of 1964-1968 with 16.8(17.0) hours which
significantly decreased to .9(.7) hours i.e. to a one fifth hours
during 1984-1988 in December (January).

Instead of stagnation in such high trends, the unusual
decreasing trend continued till present period of 1999-2003 and
thus finally making IGI airport, an unique airport in the world
which have never been experienced good visibility conditions
with visibility reaching more than 5000m in the last few years
in December with average of only a chance of half an hour to
have such good visibility in January

 Pollutions levels of SO2 have been increased till 1994 from

1991 and then their values remain stagnated till 1997. When
strict measures was started to be implemented from 1998 , it
shows a decreasing trends till 2005. But again increased
recently
However in case of NO2, the most important pollutants which
can act as CCN, have been steadily increased till 1995 from
beginning(1987) and then decreased thereafter till 2001. This
decrease is very significant as it was observed during the
period when there was an exponential growth in number of
vehicles and population. The most significant part of decrease
was from 1998 till 2001 with increasing trend thereafter till
2006.
A study conducted by CPCB shows that 50 % of NO2 emission
comes in air from vehicular activity and hence the fall in the
levels of NO2 during 1998-2001 for fewyears can be related to
the CNG implementation.
Similarly like trend of NO2, SPM level at Delhi plotted shows a
general decrease from 1994 till 1997 which again decreased
during 1998-2001. However in last 2-years, there has been a
slight increase of SPM (Data of 2003).

Hence, the effect of CNG conversion of public transport system

and other measures implemented by Govt. from 1998 to control
various pollutants over Delhi was though significantly able to
control raise of SO2 up to 2005 and the other two pollutants e.g.
NO2 and SPM during initial years of implementation, have been
again started increasing for last few years adding more CCN and
hence one of reason due to which fog hours might be still
remaining higher of Delhi

For the first time, present study unravels fall of average
maximum temperature by 2C to 3C over both the stations at
Delhi in the peak winter of January since 1989 with increase of
average fog hours per day by 8 hours during the same period

While minimum temperature shows a mixed and complicated
response to such alarming rising of fog.

Correlation coefficients computed among them also confirm that
maximum temperatures over Delhi are very strongly negatively
correlated (-0.5 to -0.6) with fog hours which again strongly
positively correlated with pollutant levels (0.6), both significant at
> 99%. In contrast, non fog hours of visibility 3000m are
strongly positively correlated (0.5) with both temperatures at
Delhi.

It is further interesting to find presence of mostly high CC between fog hours
with other meteorological parameters e.g. with concurrent relative humidity