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Abstract:
In the last three decades, various natural and man-made sources of pollution have increased impacting air quality and atmospheric pollution in India. Dense coal-based plants and brick kilns, and growing vehicles, are the major sources of poor air quality over the year. In the southern parts of India, the emissions spread in all directions, whereas in the northern parts of India, the westerly winds, control the dynamics of pollutants in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) and surrounding areas. The pollutants move over the IGP and foothills of India depending upon the meteorological conditions. The crop residue burning in Punjab started in 1986 with the start of mechanized farming and the crop residues are burnt to prepare farms for the next crops. Such practice of crop residue burning slowly spread over the adjoining states. The multi-satellite data show evidence from the fire counts and increase in greenhouse concentrations. From mid-October – mid-November, dense fog, smog, and haze in Delhi, the capital city are seen that affect the daily life of people. The local and long-range transport of dust blankets the IGP and the snow/glaciers of the Himalayan region during the pre-monsoon season. Sometimes the smoke reaches Bangladesh. In this talk, an overview of various sources of pollutants, changes in the optical properties of aerosols, the influence of cyclones in the Bay of Bengal, and the influence of COVID-19 on air quality, human health, groundwater storage, agriculture crop yields, snow/glaciers, and climate change will be discussed.
