Estimation of air quality index in Madurai city

Air pollution is one of the pressing problems of today’s era. The impact of air pollution was realized to its full potential during the COVID period. The need for identifying the effects and eliminating the causes has increased and is vital. Air pollution is generally caused by harmful pollutants released into the air by residential / commercial / industrial entities. The main pollutants are Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM 2.5), Particulate Matter 10 (PM 10) and Total Volatile Organic Compound (TVOC). During the pandemic period Northern India suffered heavy mortality compared to Southern India. To identify the extent of air pollution in South India, a growing Industrial city, Madurai was selected and a pilot study was carried out. In this study, three different areas in the city namely Rural, Urban and Industrial areas are selected for the study. The parameters measured were PM 2.5, PM 10, TVOC and Formaldehyde (HCHO). The Air Quality Index (AQI) was calculated for these areas separately and compared with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).