Winter Particulate Pollution over Raipur, India

Particulate air pollution during the winter season in the urban regions of India is severe due to substantial fuel and mineral combustion in adverse climatic conditions. In this work, chemical characteristics and sources of coarse particulate matter (PM10) and particulates associated chemicals during winter period of years 2006-2013 in the polluted city of Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India, are reported. The ambient air coarse particulate (PM10) concentration during the winter period of 2006-2007 ranged from 221 to 760 mu g m-3. The major fraction of the PM10 was composed of organic carbon, elemental carbon, iron, calcium, and sulfate. Their concentrations were remarkably reduced in the rainy season due to high wind speeds (around 10 kmh-1) and removal with rain. The concentration variations and sources of PM and associated chemical species (i.e., carbons, ions, and metals) in the ambient air are discussed.