Author : Mr. Somen Das, Dr. Hemanta Kumar Patra and Dr Bijaya Kumar Padhi

Air pollution is today’s major problem in our modern society and several factors concur to create unfavorable condition for air pollutant dispersion. The study mainly utilizes the air pollution data collected from central pollution control board (CPCB) monitoring stations across Bhubaneswar. Ambient air quality was monitored with respect to dust particles like suspended particulate matter (SPM), particulate matter of size less than 10μ (PM 10) particulate matter of size less than 2.5μ (pm2.5) gaseous pollutants like sulfur dioxide (SO2), oxides of Nitrogen (NOX), Ozone (O3) and Ammonia (NH3) at six selected locations of Bhubaneswar for a period of one year (2023) on seasonal basis. The data obtained was further analyzed to assess the seasonal variation, maximum- minimum value, annual average standard deviation and Air Quality Index (AQI). From the analysis it was observed that during winter, the concentration of particulate matter like SPM, PM10 and PM2.5 remained above the prescribed limit. The concentration of both particulate matter and gaseous pollutants were considered for computation of AQI at each monitoring location. In Bhubaneswar only two locations were in the heavily polluted category, whereas, for locations were in the polluted category and rest two are in moderately polluted category. These findings clearly indicate that traffic network, road conditions, density of population and frequency of vehicle movement are the prominent factors responsible for poor air quality of the study area. GIS is very useful for assessment of air quality. GIS has been used in the present study to map the various pollution data and analyze the area which are most affected by what type of pollutant and subsequent conclusion drawn for making the Bhubaneswar a safe and sustainable area to live in.

Keywords: AQI, Air Pollution, GIS, Monitoring