Urbanization and climate change are intricately linked, significantly influencing local and regional thermal environments. Kolkata, a rapidly expanding metropolitan city in India, has witnessed substantial shifts in urban thermal dynamics due to increasing land surface temperatures (LST), the urban heat island (UHI) effect, and heightened thermal discomfort. This article integrates high-resolution remote sensing data and a cloud-based platform via Google Earth Engine to assess spatiotemporal changes in thermal discomfort in Kolkata. The article employs the urban thermal field variance index (UTFVI) to estimate the urban thermal discomfort, while the Sen's slope estimator and the modified Mann-Kendall tests are applied to assess long-term spatiotemporal trends in urban thermal conditions. Findings reveal that LST, UHI, and UTFVI are significantly increasing at the rates of 0.149 degrees C/year, 0.041 degrees C/year, and 0.0041 degrees C/year, respectively. The results further reveal that those areas with low vegetation cover experience extreme thermal stress, highlighting the critical role of urban greenery in mitigating heat-related discomfort. The article offers data-driven insights into Kolkata's urban thermal landscape, with guidance for policymakers in developing sustainable urban planning and climate adaptation strategies, such as expanding green spaces, implementing cool roof technologies, and enhancing urban ventilation. By leveraging cloud-based remote sensing, this article provides a scalable framework for assessing and addressing urban thermal discomfort in other rapidly urbanizing cities worldwide.

BACKGROUND: As allergic disorders are increasing across all age groups, we aim to detect the common offending allergens in various allergic disorders with respiratory, gastrointestinal, or skin manifestations in children between the age group of 2 months and 18 years from the northern part of India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted in patients aged between 2 months and 18 years residing in North India having allergic symptoms such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, the combination of allergic rhinitis and asthma, eczema, urticaria, or gastrointestinal symptoms. All the patients underwent skin prick tests (SPTs) for different allergens, which were selected on the basis of history. RESULTS: A total of 458 patients were enrolled in the study with male: female ratio of 1.7:1. Based on the results of SPT, the most common offending allergens in different allergic manifestations were shortlisted. Patients with respiratory system involvement, the common allergens were house dust mites (HDM) and cockroaches, followed by mosquitoes. Most of the patients with gastrointestinal symptoms have sensitization due to egg white, followed by soybean flour. In children having skin manifestations, sensitization to HDM was most commonly seen. HDM is also responsible in patients having two system involvement such as respiratory with skin and respiratory with gastrointestinal whereas the groundnut was responsible in patients having gastrointestinal along with skin manifestations. CONCLUSION: This study contributed in delineating the most prevalent offending allergens in children of North India with various allergic disorders.

Background.Ambient aeroallergens and organic or inorganic air pollutants are known to cause asthma exacerbation and subsequent asthma-related hospital admissions.Methods.This study was carried out to study the impact of meteorological factors, air pollution, pollens over hospital visits for respiratory illness in north Delhi region from July 2014 to June 2015.Daily monitoring of pollen grains was done on the roof of the multistorey building (height up to 20m) of the Institute.Meteorological factors including temperature, relative humidity, and precipitations were recorded daily.Daily concentrations of nitric dioxide (NO 2 ), particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) were also recorded.Number of hospital visits of patients with respiratory illness were assessed in relation to air pollutants (NO 2 , SO 2 and PM 2.5 ) and climate change (temperature, relative humidity and rain).Results.During the study period, 113,462 pollen counts were recorded.Two highest peaks of mean pollen counts were observed in post-monsoon season (October-2014) and in the spring season (March 2015).The maximum and minimum pollen concentration was observed in the month of March 2015 (18818/m 3 ) and August 2014 (4731/m 3 ).Our results showed that pollen numbers significantly correlated with respiratory emergency department patient visits (P=0.037,r=0.604), and temperature and humidity (P=0.711,r=-120, and (P=0.670,r=-0.137),respectively.NO 2 significantly correlated with SO 2 , respiratory emergency department patient visits and new respiratory OPD patients (P=0.017, r=0.670,P=0.031, r=0.622 and P=0.016, r=0.675, respectively).A statistically significant correlation between rainfall and SO 2 was observed (P=0.004,r=-0.757) in the present study. Conclusion.Our study suggests that significant increase in pollen concentration and air pollutants in the ambient environment causes respiratory illness.

Background.World Health Organization (WHO) has observed that around seven million people died every year globally due to indoor air pollution.The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of indoor air pollution on respiratory health [bronchial asthma (BA) and/or allergic rhinitis (AR)] in a paediatric population in the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi, India. Methods.A cross-sectional study to assess the factors responsible for respiratory diseases (BA and/or AR) in homes in rural areas of National Capital Region (NCR), India was done.Sixty-one households where at least one child who had symptoms of BA/AR (case households; Group A) and another 61 households with children without any symptom of BA/AR (Group B) were selected for the study.A standard questionnaire was used to collect the information about the health status of children and pollution levels in these homes.Results.A total of 95 (43.8%) children in Group A households were found to have history of allergic respiratory diseases (n=43-BA, n=19-AR) while 33 children had both BA and AR.There was a statistically significant difference in the 24-hour particulate matter concentration (24-hour) PM 2.5 (P=0.01) and 6-hour concentration of PM 10 (P=0.02) in Group A households as compared to Group B households.The 6-hour concentration of PM 2.5 and PM1 and 12-hour concentration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was found to be higher in households of Group A. Group A households also had a higher number of smokers and usage of kerosene oil for lighting of lamps.Conclusions.Tobacco smoking, use of kerosene oil for lighting and combustion of solid fuel for cooking results in an increased level of particulate matter and VOCs in indoor air and are the major contributing factors for respiratory illness in the paediatric population.

Aims: To quantify and identify the pollen grains in the atmosphere of Delhi. Settings and Design: The study was conducted at the National Centre of Respiratory Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute (VPCI), University of Delhi, Delhi, India. Subjects and Methods: The study was conducted for 2 months at VPCI, University of Delhi (North Campus), Delhi. Pollen grains were collected on a daily basis using 24-h Burkard (UK) volumetric air sampler. Trapped pollen film was stained with a fuchsin stain that is protected with a cover slip and examined under a light microscope. Identification was done with the help of manuals for pollen identification. Statistical Analysis Used: Data analysis was done by Microsoft Excel 2007. Results: In this study period (April and May 2017), a total of 10,858/m3 pollens were counted; of these, 7758/m3 pollens of 34 species of trees, weeds, and grasses were identified. Overall, Juniper sp. (1385/m3) pollen of tree was found to be the most dominant pollen, followed by Cannabis sativa (726/m3), Pooideae grasses (e.g. Poa sp., Lolium perenne, Dactylis glomerata) (654/m3), Cynodon dactylon (509/m3), Amaranthus sp. (506/m3), Artemisia sp. (460/m3), Cassia sp. (447/m3), Chenopodium album (412/m3), Helenium autumnale (381/m3), and Parthenium (301/m3). Juniper sp. (1310/m3) pollens in April 2017 and C. sativa (421/m3) pollens in May 2017 have shown their dominance. Conclusions: In our study, various pollens of different plant species were counted and identified in this short study period. The common pollens found were Juniper sp., C. sativa, Pooideae grasses (e.g. Poa sp., Lolium perenne, Dactylis glomerata), C. dactylon, Amaranthus sp., C. album, H. autumnale, Parthenium, and Artemisia sp. in 2 months. This short study may be helpful for the respiratory allergic patients to protect themselves by pollens.

Background: Indoor combustion source, like incenses, are commonly used for aesthetic and religious purposes in various indoor as well as outdoor environments. The combustion leads to the production of a large amount of smoke, which can pose a health risk due to inhalation exposure of particulate matter (PM). Objective: Monitoring of PM (PM 10 , PM 2.5 , and PM 1 ) during the preburning, burning and postburning phases of incenses (agarbatti and dhoop) and mosquito coil in the indoor environment. Materials and Methods: The monitoring of PM was carried out using the Grimm Portable Laser Aerosol Spectrometer and dust monitor model 1.108/1.109. The substances used were mosquito coil, incense (sandal), incense (floral sticks) and dhoop. The data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical package version 14.0 for windows (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA), using one-way analysis of variance to compare the PM 10 , PM 2.5 and PM 1.0 concentration levels. Results: The mean concentrations of PM 10 (1879.7 μ/m 3 ), PM 2.5 (1775.4 μ/m 3 ) and PM 1 (1300.1 μ/m 3 ) during burning phase were highest for dhoop. The mean concentrations of PM 10 , PM 2.5 and PM 1 during burning of mosquito coil were 259.2 μ/m 3 , 232.4 μ/m 3 and 214.0 μ/m 3 respectively. The burning of incense (flora) had PM 10 (854.1 μ/m 3 ), PM 2.5 (779.8 μ/m 3 ) and PM 1 (699.8 μ/m 3 ), which were higher, in comparison to burning of incense (sandal). The particulate emission during the burning of dhoop (PM 10, PM 2.5, PM 1 ) was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than incense (sandal and flora) and mosquito coil. The concentrations of PM 10 , PM 2.5 and PM 1 even during postburning phase were significantly higher for dhoop in comparison to other three products, resulting in prolonged exposure even after the cessation of burning phase. Conclusion: The study suggests burning of dhoop, incense sticks and mosquito coil in the indoor environment emit quiet higher respirable PM, which may accumulate on prolonged exposure and lead to respiratory illnesses.