Evaluation of spatial and temporal anomalies of major air pollutants using TROPOMI and MODIS data over the Annamayya district of India

Abstract

Abstract Air pollution can be treated as a ‘now business’ instead of a pending forecast-mediated long-term response, and it needs to be addressed as swiftly as possible. COVID-19 has impacted us in diverse ways hindering our daily life and cautioning us to enhance preparation strategies to yield an immediate and appropriate response. The selected air pollutants in this study are aerosols, methane, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter derived from aerosol optical depth. The data needed for this study is collected from TROPOMI (Tropospheric measurement instrument) of Sentinel-5 P and MODIS. Three urban centers were selected to know the disparities in air pollutant concentrations using time series plots. The area-averaged maps were produced using data from 2019 to 2022 of selected pollutants. The sulfur dioxide (0.288343), nitrogen dioxide (0.602766), formaldehyde (0.429631), carbon monoxide (0.959546), methane (0.807138), aerosol optical depth (0.852948), aerosol Index (0.936116), and particulate matter (0.852948) concentrations are correlated over temporal scale. The overall understanding as a result of this work is that on a large scale (district level), the effect of COVID-19 on air pollution is relatively obvious, whereas, in small regions, due to a lack of ground observation stations, it is not clear. This kind of work can help the local administration to increase the infrastructure that can help in reducing air pollution and, by extension, improve human health and the environment.