Identification of Dominant Air Pollutants Over Hyderabad Using Principal Component Analysis (PCA)

The study aims to bring out the interdependence of the air pollutant components through Correlation and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to identify the sources causing air pollution in Residential, Resident cum Industrial and Industrial areas of Hyderabad. For this purpose, daily data (from 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2020) of air pollutants recorded by Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) that includes 15 air pollution-causing components was collected from the Centre Pollution Control Board (CPCB) website. Data from Residential (Hyderabad Central University (HCU)), Residential and Industrial (ICRISAT-Patencheru), and purely Industrial (Pashmylaram) areas were analyzed and it was identified that 5 majorly contributed pollutants at HCU were due to residential activities however, 5 major pollutants at ICRISAT and Pashmylaram were due to vehicular traffic and industry emissions. The purpose of the study was to figure out the sources of air pollutants and their interdependency under different local conditions. The findings of the study may help the policymakers and authorities concerned to implement different strategies and take necessary steps to keep the pollution levels under control.