Effectiveness of vehicle-free zone in reducing air pollution
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Effectiveness of vehicle‑free zone in reducing air pollution J. Khadgi1 · R. Thapa2 · T. Prasai Joshi3 · R. Maskey Byanju1 Received: 28 May 2020 / Revised: 23 August 2020 / Accepted: 30 September 2020 © Islamic Azad University (IAU) 2020
Abstract This study focuses on the effectiveness of vehicle-free zone in terms of air quality. Particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO) were measured at V1, a core area of vehicle-free zone for three seasons (post-monsoon, winter, and pre-monsoon), seven days each for 12-h time period. PM and CO concentrations were higher in the morning hours, considerably lower during the afternoon and increased during the evening. P M2.5, PM10, and CO were found to be 28.49 ± 15.10 µg/ m3, 83.78 ± 46.24 µg/m3, 4.53 ± 3.08 mg/m3 in post-monsoon; 62.49 ± 34.37 µg/m3, 89.28 ± 34.91 µg/m3, and 7.9 ± 4.76 mg/ m3 in winter; 27.41 ± 11.16 µg/m3, 42.12 ± 15.35 µg/m3, and 5.27 ± 0.56 mg/m3 in pre-monsoon, respectively. PM was found to be lower in the vehicle-free zone than the reference stations (R1 and R2) as well as before the vehicle-free intervention. However, there were occasional mornings and evenings with higher emissions as compared to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality standards guidelines. This means that background pollution and atmospheric conditions might have a greater impact on the degradation of the ambient air quality to which the population is exposed chronically. Despite these results, the decrease in particulate matter concentration also suggests that these regulations could be one of the effective measures to control air pollution. Keywords Carbon monoxide · Emissions · Meteorology · Particulate matter
Introduction The unmanaged booming of urban settlements and fossil-fuel-driven transportation systems have been responsible for air pollution globally, and Nepal is not an exception. Air pollution is the most visible component responsible for environmental degradation in Nepal. Urban Health Initiative (UHI) has identified solid waste, transport, industry/brick kilns, and household energy sectors as the four major sources of air pollutants (UHI 2019). These sources are the reasons behind the accelerated particulate and gaseous pollutant concentration in the atmosphere. In 2020, the Environmental Editorial responsibility: Mohamed F. Yassin. * J. Khadgi [email protected] 1
Central Department of Environmental Science, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Nepal
2
Department of Environmental Science, Patan Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University, Lalitpur, Nepal
3
Environment and Climate Study Laboratory, Faculty of Science, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology, Khumaltar, Lalitpur, Nepal
Performance Index (EPI) ranked Nepal among the bottom three countries reflecting “poor” performance based on air quality (Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy 2020). The annual average of P M2.5 is 49 µg/m3 in the Kathmandu valley, which increases to 70–80 µg/m3 during the
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