The document discusses air quality parameters and air pollution. It outlines that the Central Pollution Control Board establishes air quality standards for India and coordinates with state pollution control boards. An air quality index is used to communicate current and forecast air pollution levels based on measurements of 8 pollutants. Examples of current air quality index levels are provided for several Indian cities. Metrics for assessing air pollution levels internationally and factors used to evaluate air quality are also described. Standards for air quality under clean air acts in the US and EU are briefly outlined.

1. Presented by
Mohit kumar meena
Agriclaas7073@gmail.com
Air quality parameters

2.  The presence of any harmful material in the air that adversely
affects the human beings and their surrounding environment is
termed Air Pollution
1. Primary pollutants that are released/emitted in their
natural specific form. They persist in the atmosphere for a
longer duration in the form as they are.
Eg: Hydrocarbons, H2S, SO2, CO2,Cl.
2. Secondary pollutants that are formed by the reaction of
two primary pollutants. These may be photochemical or
not.
Eg: SO2 +O2 =SO3
O2 +O = O3
Such harmful substances are called as Pollutants. Related to
Air pollution, there may be 2 types of pollutants:

3. •The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is an autonomous body
under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change (MoEF&CC). It was established in 1974 under the Water
(Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
•It co-ordinates along with the activities of SPCB’s (State Pollution
Control Board) and PCC’s (Pollution Control Comittees). These three
comittees are responsible for implementing the legislations related to
Prevention and Control of Pollution
•It also advises the Governments of Union Territories on industrial and
other sources of water and air pollution. CPCB along with its
counterparts the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) are responsible
for implementation of legislation relating to prevention and control of
environmental pollution.

4. • The CPCB also advises the Central Govt. on all
matters concerned to the Prevention and Control of
Pollution and provides technical assistance to the
Ministry of Environment
• The mandate of the CPCB under Air Act empowers it
to set standards for the air quality and hence, Air
Quality Parameters are established.

5. • An air quality index (AQI) is a number used by
government agencies to communicate to the public how
polluted the air currently is or how polluted it is
forecast to become.
 Salient features of the Index:•
 The measurement of AQI is based on 8 pollutants (CPCB) –
PM 10, PM 2.5, SO2, Nox, O3, CO, NH3 and Lead.
 The unit of measurement is microgram (or
milligram in the case of CO) per cubic meter.
 • The AQI has been at present launched for 10 cities --
Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Faridabad,
Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

7.  In Delhi, the air quality index is 326.
 In Mumbai is it 204.
 In Chennai was recorded at 263 on Diwali

8.  At international level, PIR gives the estimation of overall
pollution in the city.
 As per the records -
 Accra, Ghana has the highest PIR – 103.2
2. Ghaziabad – 99.0
4. Faizabad – 97.4
6. Kathmandu – 96.57
5. Cario Egypt – 97.2
8. Karachi, Pakistan – 95
20.Gurgaon – 90.73
111. Nagpur – 66.20
270. Wellington, New Zealand(min.) – 9.2

9.  EF = Observed Annual Mean Concentration of
Pollutant /
Annual Standard for the respective Pollutant.
 If EF > 1.5, then the condition is Critical.
 If EF is between 1 - 1.5, then the condition is
considered as highly polluted while if the EF is
between 0.5 – 1, the condition is moderate.

10.  The Clean Air Act (US) has been proposed for clean air
standards. This Act requires Envt. Protection Agency
(EPA) to set their AAQS.
 2 types of AAQS are identified in the Clean Air Act:
1. Primary standards: These standards have been set up for
the public health protection including asthamatics,
children and the elderly.
2. Secondary standards: These standards are for the welfare
of the public including protection against low visibility and
damage to animals, crops, vegetation and buildings.
 These AAQS have been set up for 6 pollutants in the US:
CO, Lead, NO2, O3, PM and SO2.

11.  The European Union (EU) has also developed legislations
on AQ standards.
 The recognized pollutants are: PM 10, PM 2.5, CO, SO2,
NO2, Lead, Benzene, Cadmium, Nickel and polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons.
 EU I came into existence in 1992, then EU II in 1996
and the most recent is EU III that came in 2000.
 In India, similarly as the EU’s, the Ministry for Surface
Transport notified rules for mass emission standards
known as “Bharat 2000”(similar to EU I) applied to all
vehicles manufactured on or after April 1, 2000.