Tropospheric ozone enhancement during post-harvest crop-residue fires at two downwind sites of the Indo-Gangetic Plain

Abstract

In the present study, surface ozone (O₃), nitrogen oxides (NO_x), and carbon monoxide (CO) levels were measured at two sites downwind of fire active region in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP): Agra (27.16° N, 78.08° E) and Delhi (28.37° N, 77.12° E) to study the impact of post-harvest crop-residue fires. The study period was classified into two groups: Pre-harvest period and Post-harvest period. During the post-harvest period, an enhancement of 17.3 and 31.7 ppb in hourly averaged O₃ mixing ratios was observed at Agra and Delhi, respectively, under similar meteorological conditions. The rate of change of O₃ was also higher in the post-harvest period by 56.2% in Agra and 39.5% in Delhi. Relatively higher O₃ episodic days were observed in the post-harvest period. Fire hotspots detected by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) along with backward air-mass trajectory analysis suggested that the enhanced O₃ and CO levels at the study sites during the post-harvest period could be attributed to crop-residue burning over the North-West IGP (NW-IGP). Satellite observations of surface CO mixing ratios and tropospheric formaldehyde (HCHO) column also showed higher levels during the post-harvest period.

Graphical abstract