Ahmad Mubarak, Ahmad Maqbool, Alam Khan, Zeb Bahadar, Khan Komal, Ditta Allah
School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Wuxi University, Wuxi, China.
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
Environ Monit Assess. 2025 Aug 29;197(9):1055. doi: 10.1007/s10661-025-14518-0.
Anthropogenic aerosols play a crucial role in contributing to visibility reduction, degrading air quality, altering the hydrological cycle, and perturbing the Earth's atmospheric energy balance. This study investigates the anthropogenic particulate matter emissions and their associated impacts on air quality, with a particular emphasis on the rising problem of smog formation in Peshawar, Pakistan. Therefore, for the first time, this study assesses US Consulate NowCast data on fine particulate matter (PM) with ozone monitoring instrument (OMI) data on trace gases over the period from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2024. It was observed that the daily and annual PM concentrations of 90 and 99 µg/m, respectively, surpass the permissible National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS) and World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines. The daily concentrations of PM were found to exceed threefold NEQS and sixfold WHO limits, while the annual amount was 7 times NEQS and 20 times WHO. The results of Mann's Kendal (MK) test revealed a significant (p ≤ 0.05) increasing trend in daily, 30-day rolling averages, and annual concentrations of PM from 2020 to 2023. In 2024, it was found to decrease, but it was still higher in the winter season. In addition, PM showed a moderate to strong correlation with key trace gases, including nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and sulfur dioxide. Likewise, PM concentrations were evaluated using the air quality index, and the study area was classified as 51% unhealthy and 26% unhealthy for sensitive groups. This study concludes that the air quality of Peshawar is worsening, with PM levels consistently surpassing air quality guidelines, highlighting the need for immediate and sustainable strategies to combat smog pollution in the region.
人为气溶胶在导致能见度降低、空气质量恶化、改变水文循环以及扰乱地球大气能量平衡方面起着关键作用。本研究调查了人为颗粒物排放及其对空气质量的相关影响，特别关注巴基斯坦白沙瓦日益严重的雾霾形成问题。因此，本研究首次评估了2020年1月1日至2024年12月31日期间美国领事馆的细颗粒物（PM）即时预报数据以及臭氧监测仪（OMI）的微量气体数据。据观察，每日和年度PM浓度分别为90和99微克/立方米，超过了国家环境质量标准（NEQS）的允许范围以及世界卫生组织（WHO）的空气质量指南。发现PM的每日浓度超过NEQS的三倍和WHO限值的六倍，而年度浓度则是NEQS的7倍和WHO的20倍。曼恩肯德尔（MK）检验结果显示，2020年至2023年期间，PM的每日、30天滚动平均值和年度浓度呈显著（p≤0.05）上升趋势。2024年，其浓度有所下降，但冬季仍较高。此外，PM与关键微量气体，包括二氧化氮、臭氧和二氧化硫，呈现出中度到强的相关性。同样，使用空气质量指数对PM浓度进行了评估，研究区域被归类为对51%的人群不健康，对26%的敏感人群不健康。本研究得出结论，白沙瓦的空气质量正在恶化，PM水平持续超过空气质量指南，凸显了立即采取可持续战略应对该地区雾霾污染的必要性。
