Assessment of Seasonal Variations of Air Quality and AQI Status: Evidence from Chittagong, Bangladesh

Mir Md. Mozammal Hoque (Department of Environmental Science and Resource Management, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Tangail-1902, Bangladesh)
Md. Moshiuzzaman Khan (Department of Environmental Science and Resource Management, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Tangail-1902, Bangladesh)
Md. Eusuf Sarker (Department of Environmental Science and Resource Management, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Tangail-1902, Bangladesh)
Md. Nuralam Hossain (School of Environment and Ecology, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400045, China)
Md. Sirajul Islam (Department of Environmental Science and Resource Management, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Tangail-1902, Bangladesh)
Md. Mehedi Hasan Khan (Department of Environmental Science and Resource Management, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Tangail-1902, Bangladesh)
Manik Shil (Department of Environmental Science and Resource Management, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Tangail-1902, Bangladesh)
Md. Nazirul Islam Sarker (School of Social Science, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia)

IJEMS (Indonesian Journal of Environmental Management and Sustainability)
Vol. 6 No. 3 (2022): September

With the rate of fast urbanization, the devasting effects of air pollution are spreading across the globe. Due to its connection to people’s health, air quality should be given more importance than other environmental measures. Air pollution is considered a cause of many human diseases. Therefore, this study intends to investigate seasonal variation of air quality and “Air Quality Index (AQI)” in Chittagong city due to its volume, large population density, and importance as a commercial capital city of Bangladesh. Air pollution data on PM10, PM2.5, NO2 , NOx, SOx, CO, and O3 levels have been collected from TV station, Khulshi Continuous Air Monitoring Station (CAMS). Component-specific analyzers have been used to continuously measure trace gases where O3 is observed with a UV photometric analyzer. This study detect the highest peak (PM2.5= 93.5 µg/m3, PM10= 210 µg/m3) in January and the lowest concentrations (PM2.5= 14.6 µg/m3 and PM10= 26.9 µg/m3 ) during July and August. The highest average concentration has been recorded as the value of SO2= 12.8 ppb (monsoon season), NO2= 64.9 ppb (pre-monsoon), CO= 1.2 ppm (monsoon) and lowest SO2= 3.2 ppb (winter season), NO2= 24.4 ppb (monsoon), CO= 0.6 ppm (pre-monsoon) respectively. The AQI values (223.6), (109.5), (194.5), and (317.3) indicate that the air quality during the pre-monsoon, monsoon, post-monsoon, and winter season is very unhealthy, cautious, unhealthy, and extremely unhealthy, respectively.