Impact of Lockdown Measures on Air Quality; A Case Study of Jodhpur

Abstract

Air quality index (AQI) is an assessment technique carried out to analyse and gather database on how polluted the atmosphere is. As air pollution is becoming a bigger known threat with modernization, various countries are taking different measures to assess how the amount of contamination present in the air we breathe. In this research, the impact of the pandemic of 2019 on the air quality in Jodhpur has been analysed and also compared the AQI on monthly basis. This index is a national airquality ratingsystem based on the national ambient air quality standards. The process to measure AQI can be used globally by changing the standards accordingly. In this study we observed the changes in the air quality throughout the year 2020. Measurements for the four monitoring sites (Maha-Mandir, Sojati Gate, Shastri Circle and Basni Industrial area) in Jodhpur were keenly observed and a comparative analysis was recorded. To measure the AQI of all the four zones a “Maximum Operator Function” method was initially tested in IIT Kanpur, was applied in this study. Basni Industrial Areawas followed by Shastri Circle in depicting the best air quality,since both of the areas were categorized as industrial areas, it showed that policy measures relating to theindustries in the city during past years have helpedin improving the air quality.