Understand the local and regional contributions on air pollution from the view of human health impacts

• PM_2.5-related deaths were estimated to be 227 thousand in BTH & surrounding regions. • Local emissions contribute more to PM_2.5-related deaths than PM_2.5 concentration. • Local controls are underestimated if only considering its impacts on concentrations. • Rural residents suffer larger impacts of regional transport than urban residents. • Reducing regional transport benefits in mitigating environmental inequality. The source-receptor matrix of PM_2.5 concentration from local and regional sources in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) and surrounding provinces has been created in previous studies. However, because the spatial distribution of concentration does not necessarily match with that of the population, such concentration-based source-receptor matrix may not fully reflect the importance of pollutant control effectiveness in reducing the PM_2.5-related health impacts. To demonstrate that, we study the source-receptor matrix of the PM_2.5-related deaths instead, with inclusion of the spatial correlations between the concentrations and the population. The advanced source apportionment numerical model combined with the integrated exposure–response functions is used for BTH and surrounding regions in 2017. We observed that the relative contribution to PM_2.5-related deaths of local emissions was 0.75% to 20.77% larger than that of PM_2.5 concentrations. Such results address the importance of local emissions control for reducing health impacts of PM_2.5 particularly for local residents. Contribution of regional transport to PM_2.5-related deaths in rural area was 22% larger than that in urban area due to the spatial pattern of regional transport which was more related to the rural population. This resulted in an environmental inequality in the sense that people staying in rural area with access to less educational resources are subjected to higher impacts from regional transport as compared with their more resourceful and knowledgeable urban compatriots. An unexpected benefit from the multi-regional joint controls is suggested for its effectiveness in reducing the regional transport of PM_2.5 pollution thus mitigating the associated environmental inequality.     

Temporal and spatial variations of PM2.5 organic and elemental carbon in Central India

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - This study describes spatiotemporal patterns from October 2015 to September 2016 for PM2.5 mass and carbon measurements in rural (Kosmarra), urban (Raipur),...     

Nutrient dynamics and seasonal variation of phytoplankton assemblages in the coastal waters of southwest Bay of Bengal

In order to understand the phytoplankton community structure and its relationship with the environmental variables in the near shore waters of Kalpakkam, east coast of India, observations were carried out during 2008–2009. Phytoplankton population was comprised of 219 species, and the density was higher during the southwest monsoon (SWM) and inter-monsoon seasons than that of north east monsoon (NEM) season. The nutrient status on a temporal and spatial scale indicated the impact of point sources carrying anthropogenic runoff. Comparison of ambient nutrient ratios with the Redfield ratio (N/P/Si?=?16:1:16) showed a clear temporal variation in the factors that regulate the phytoplankton growth. SWM and inter-monsoon season was evident to have an acute N-limitation of algal growth (~76 %) whereas P-limitation was encountered during the NEM season (~75 %). Interestingly, a sizable population of cyanobacteria (Trichodesmium erythraeum) were noticed during NEM season when there was an exponential increase in nitrogen concentration, probably due to nitrogen fixation. No significant impact of temperature on phytoplankton proliferation was observed in situ during the study period.     

Globalisation and its effect on pollution in Malaysia: the role of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of the globalisation (Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement in particular) on air...     

Impact of climate change on agricultural production of Odisha (India): a Ricardian analysis

Regional Environmental Change - The present study examines the climate sensitivity of the agricultural production of Odisha, a state at the east coast of India. The two climatic variables which...     

Light non-methane hydrocarbons at two sites in the Indo-Gangetic Plain

Measurements of light (C(2)-C(5)) non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) were made along with ozone (O(3)), oxides of nitrogen (NO(x)), carbon monoxide (CO) and methane (CH(4)) at Hissar and Kanpur in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) in India during the month of December, 2004. Air samplings during noon and evening hours provided an opportunity to study the emission characteristics and changes during this period at these sites. The mixing ratio of O(3) was higher during noon hours due to photochemical formation, while the levels of precursor gases showed elevated values during the evening hours on a clear sky day. On foggy days there is no such variation. The lower mixing ratios of O(3) observed on foggy days could be due to the slower rate of photochemical formation caused by a reduction in solar flux and surface deposition caused by the presence of a stable planetary boundary layer. Propene and ethene show the highest evening to noon ratio due to their faster reactivities with OH radicals. Correlations among different species of the measured gases indicate contributions of emissions from biomass and biofuel burning as well as fossil fuel combustion. Although qualitatively in relation to O(3), the propylene (propene) equivalents of NMHCs have been calculated to investigate their roles in O(3) photochemistry and compared with the data from Ahmedabad, an urban site in western India. The important result, which has emerged from the analysis of the observed data, is that while the total amount of these NMHCs is least at Hissar and highest at Ahmedabad, the total propylene-equivalent is highest at Hissar and lowest at Ahmedabad. Further, these two sites in the IGP show significant contributions, almost 72-77%, by propene and ethene while the contribution by these two gases at Ahmedabad is only about 47%. The surface level mixing ratios of O(3) could be treated as representative for the chemical characterization of air mass at a regional scale over the IGP as the month long trends of O(3) show significant similarity compared to the trends in precursors at the two sites.     

Environmental implications of Biological spectrum vis-à-vis tree species diversity in two protected forests (PFs) of Gandhamardan hill ranges, Eastern Ghats, India

Environmental implications of Biological spectrum vis-à-vis tree species diversity in two protected forests of Gandhamardan hill ranges of Eastern Ghats, India, are of great ecological significance in the perspective of climatic change. Biological spectrum includes phanerophytes (38.4?%), nanophanerophytes (11.4?%), chamaephytes (5.5?%), hemicryptophytes (2.4?%), geophytes (4.1?%), hydrophytes (0.7?%), therophytes (27.3?%), and lianas (10?%). The comparison with Raunkiaer??s normal spectrum depicts ??Phanero-Therophytic Phytoclimate??. The present study enlisted of a total of 10,775 trees belonging to 90 tree species within a 17.6?ha sampled area (441 plots). The Shannon?CWeiner index (H??) is 3.92 (Site-I) and 3.31 (Site-II) with Simpson??s value 1.0. This value indicates that the tropical moist deciduous forests are also species diverse systems. Mean stand density was 671?ha^?1 in Site-I and 565?ha^?1 in Site-II. Ascertaining the phytoclimate of Gandhamardan hill ranges vis-à-vis tree species diversity and comparing the area on a geographical scale would be helpful for conservation and management of the study area.     

Spatiotemporal evaluation of water quality incidents in Japan between 1996 and 2007

We present a spatiotemporal evaluation of water quality incidents in Japan considering incident numbers, incident causes, pollutant categories, and pollution effects. Water pollution incidents in first-class river systems almost tripled to about 1487 in the 12 years from 1996 to 2007. In addition, oil makes up the largest proportion of pollutants nationwide (76.61%) and the major source of pollution for each region in Japan. Moreover, every category shows a growth trend, especially since 2005. The main cause of incidents was “Unknown” (43%), followed by “Poor working practice” (24%), and then by “Accident” (10%) and “Other” (10%). In Hokuriku, however, the main cause of incidents was “Poor working practice” (36%), which is greater than “Unknown” (30%). Finally, waterworks (approximately 60%) was the largest of four kinds of water supply infrastructure affected by pollution incidents, followed by simplified waterworks. The population affected by offensive odors and tastes peaked in 1990 and has been decreasing. Overall, the results show the characteristics of incidents from 1996 to 2007, with significant implications for adaptation measures, strategies and policies to reduce water quality incidents.