ANALYSIS OF AMBIENT AIR QUALITY IN GUWAHATI CITY ? A CASE STUDY

This study reports the analysis of the ambient air quality at six different locations in Guwahati city. It investigates the concentration of the pollutants - Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) for the months of April, May and June 2014. Six sampling sites (Industrial, Residential and Urban) were selected on the basis of different parameters like population density, meterological data etc. The sites selected were Bamunimaidam, Khanapara, Boragaon, Jalukbari, Santipur and Ulubari. The Air Quality Index (AQI) was calculated using Indian Air Quality Index (IND-AQI) procedure. It revealed that SPM and RSPM are mainly responsible for polluting the environment at different locations in Guwahati city. The concentration of gaseous pollutants namely SO2 and NO2 were under the permissible limits as per National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) while the concentration of particulate pollutants (SPM and RSPM/PM10) were higher than the permissible limits as per CPCB.