Assessment of ambient air quality in urban centres of Haryana (India)

in relation to different anthropogenic activities and health risks

C. P. Kaushik*, Ravindra Khaiwal#, Krishan Yadav, Surender Mehta and A. K.
Haritash

Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Guru Jambheshwar University,

Hisar- 125001, Haryana, India.
(*author for Correspondence – e-mail: cpkaushik@[Link])

Abstract
Considering the mounting evidences of the effects of air pollution on health, the
present study was undertaken to assess the ambient air quality status in the fast growing
urban centres of Haryana state, India. The samples were collected for total suspended
particulate matter (TSPM), respirable suspended particulate matter (PM10), sulfur dioxide
(SO2), and for oxides of nitrogen (NO2) during different seasons from 8 districts of
Haryana during January, 1999 to September, 2000. The four types of sampling sites with
different anthropogenic activities i.e. residential, sensitive, commercial and industrial
were identified in each city. The ambient air concentration of TSPM and PM10 observed
was well above the prescribed standards at almost all the sites. The average ambient air
concentrations of SO2 and NO2 were found below the permissible limits at all the centres.
Comparatively higher concentration of SO2 was observed during winter seasons, which
seems to be related with the enhanced combustion of fuel for space heating and
comparatively stable atmospheric conditions. Air Quality Index (AQI) prepared for these
cities shows that residential, sensitive and commercial areas were moderately to severely
polluted which is a cause of concern for the residents of these cities. The high levels of
TSPM and SO2 especially in winter are of major health concern because of their
synergistic action. The data from Hisar city reveals a significant increase in the total
number of hospital visits/admissions of the patients with acute respiratory diseases during
winter season when the level of air pollutants was high.

Keywords: urban centres, TSPM, PM10, vehicles, air quality index, human health.

#
Present address: Micro and Trace Analysis Center, Department of Chemistry,
University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610, Antwerp, Belgium. (e-mail:
[Link]@[Link] or Khaiwal@[Link])

1
 1. Introduction
Air pollution has long been recognized as a potentially lethal form of pollution.
Entry of pollutants into the atmosphere occurs in the form of gases or particles.
Continuous mixing, transformation and trans-boundary transportation of air pollutants
make air quality of a locality unpredictable. The growth of population, industry and
number of vehicles and improper implementation of stringent emission standards make
the problem of air pollution still worse (Ravindra et. al., 2001). The WHO/UNEP report
(1992) reveals air pollution problems in metropolitan cities of India as they are heading
the list of the most polluted cities of the world. India has 23 major cities of over 1 million
people and ambient air pollution levels exceed the WHO standards in many of them
(Gupta et. al, 2002). The single most important factor responsible for the deterioration of
air quality in the cities is the exponential increase in the number of vehicles. Vehicular
pollution contributes to 70 % of total pollution in Delhi, 52 % in Mumbai and 30 % in
Calcutta (C.P.C.B., 2003; Gokhale & Patil, 2004; Ravindra et al., 2005).
Pollution in these cities has associated serious to moderate health problems due to
high levels of total suspended particulate matter (TSPM), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and lead
(The World Bank report, 1997). At least 500,000 premature deaths and 4 to 5 million new
cases of chronic bronchitis are reported each year (WHO, 1992). Further 4% to 8% of
premature deaths on a global scale are due to exposure of high levels of particulate matter
in ambient air (WHO, 2000). Ambient air levels exceeding the WHO levels in 36 major
Indian cities and towns results in 40 thousand premature deaths, around 19 million
respiratory hospital admissions and sickness requiring medical treatment and also 1.2
billion incidences of minor sickness annually (Brandon & Homman, 1995).
Despite the increasing evidence of negative impact of air quality on human health
(Dockery et al., 1993a,b; Pope et al., 1995; Kunzli et al., 2000), not much data on
ambient air quality, a prerequisite for health studies, is available for most of the medium
size cities or towns in India, although a large population lives in these cities or towns. Not
much information on the air quality of Haryana, which has experienced rapid industrial
and vehicular growth during last few decades, is available. In the present study, an
attempt has been made to assess the prevailing concentration and trends of the TSPM,
PM10, SO2 and NO2 in the fast growing urban centers of various cities in relation to

2
different anthropogenic activities. Furthermore, the epidemiological data of Hisar city
was evaluated in relation to the health risks of these criteria pollutants.

[Link] and Methods

2.1. Site specifications
Haryana is a fast developing state of north India situated at 300 30’ N, 740 60’ E
and around 210-275 m above mean sea level with an area of 44,000 Km2. The population
is about 21.1 million (2001). Approximately 29% people reside in cities. The cities are
dominated by various small, medium and large-scale industries. From 1966 to 1997, the
total number of industries has increase up to 7 time, whereas a 75 times increase in total
number of vehicle has been registered.
Eight major cities namely, Bhiwani, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonipat, Panipat,
Yamunanagar, Panchkula and Hisar were selected for the ambient air quality monitoring
(Fig.1), which have observed considerable growth in commercial and industrial sector
during last few years. A total of four sampling sites were selected in each city on the
basis of differential population activity and characteristics, which includes residential (R),
sensitive (S), commercial (C) and industrial (I) areas. In most of the cases district civil
hospital was selected as the sensitive site.

2.2. Sampling and analytical procedure

APM-460 respirable dust samplers (RDS) with provision for gaseous sampling
APM-411 (Envirotech, New Delhi) was used for measuring the concentrations of TSPM,
PM10, NO2 and SO2 in the ambient air. The sampling inlet was placed 1-3 meter above
the ground level, depending upon the site available for the RDS. The APM-460
Respirable Dust Sampler has been provided with a cyclone. The cyclone has been
designed to provide separation of PM10 particles. Atmospheric air was drawn for ~24
hours through the cyclone and 20 X 25 cm glass fiber filter (GFF) sheet at a flow rate of
0.8 to 1.2 m3min-1 and finally the average flow rate was calculated.
As the air with suspended particulate enters the cyclone, coarse non-respirable
dust is separated from the air stream by centrifugal forces. The suspended particulate
matter falls through the cyclone’s conical hopper and gets collected in the cyclonic-cup.
The fine dust comprising the respirable fraction of TSPM passes through the cyclone and

3
gets collected on GFF. The amount of non-respirable suspended particulate matter
(NRSPM) and respirable particulate per unit volume of air passed was calculated on the
basis of the difference between initial and final weights of the cyclone cup and that of the
filter paper, and the total volume of the air drawn during sampling. Mass concentration of
TSPM was calculated by adding the concentration of PM10 and NRSPM. For gaseous
(SO2 and NO2) sampling the impingers were exposed for ~24 hour at an impingement
rate of 1 Litre min-1 to get one sample in a day. SO2 was analyzed by the West-Gaeke
method on Spectronic-21 spectrophotometer at wavelength of 560 nm. NO2 was analyzed
employing the Jacob- Hochheiser modified method on a spectrophotometer at wavelength
of 540 nm (Lodge, 1989).

2.3. Air quality index (AQI)

The Air Quality Index (AQI) was calculated using the method suggested by
Tiwari and Ali (1987). First of all, the air quality rating of each pollutant was calculated
by the following formula:

V
Q = 100
Vs

Where, Q represents quality rating, V the observed–value of the pollutant and Vs

the standard value recommended for that pollutant. The Vs values used are as National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (Table 1) for different areas.
If total ‘n’ number of pollutants were considered for air quality monitoring,
geometric mean of these ‘n’ number of quality rating is calculated in the following way:

(log a  log b  log c  .log x )

g = antilog
n

Where ‘g’ is geometric mean, while ‘a, b, c, and x’ represents different value of
quality rating, and ‘n’ is number of values of quality rating.

4
 3. Results and Discussions
3.1. Site-specific variations
The average concentration of various criteria pollutants is shown in Table 2. The
ambient air concentration of TSPM was observed more than the stipulated standards at
almost all the sites. It ranged from 158.3 µg/m3 (Sonipat) to 868.0 µg/m3 (Faridabad) in
residential areas and 104.1 µg/m3 (Bhiwani) to 812.1 µg/m3 (Hisar) in sensitive areas.
Commercial areas also had TSPM concentration above the recommended limit (200
µg/m3) and ranged from 191.3 µg/m3 (Hisar) to 1756.6 µg/m3 (Sonipat), whereas the
TSPM levels in industrial areas varies from 126.4 µg/m3 (Panipat) to 1075.8 µg/m3
(Yamunanagar). Further, it was observed that average concentrations of PM10 ranged
from 32.0 µg/m3 in sensitive area in Panchkula to 430.0 µg/m3 in commercial area in
Sonipat and were found lower than the non-respirable suspended particulate matter
(range from 39.5 µg/m3 in Bhiwani to 1493 µg/m3 in Hisar).
The WHO reports (1998, 1999) also shows that, most of the cities in developing
world including several cities of India experience the TSPM level above 300 g/m3. The
data on PM10 is available only for a limited number of cities which reveals that the annual
average PM10 level ranged from 50 to 100 g/m3 in the year 1995/1996. The highest
concentration exceeding 250 g/m3 were observed in Kolkata and New Delhi.
Comparison of our results with WHO reports reveals higher levels of particulate matter in
the present study. The probable reason for the high levels of atmospheric TSPM and
PM10 could be due to industrial and agriculture activities.
Gaseous pollutants (SO2 and NO2) were found below the permissible limits at all
the centres except at few sites in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonipat, Panipat and Yamunanagar
in January, 1999. The levels of SO2 during year 2000 sampling period were well below
the permissible limit at all the sites. The SO2 concentrations in the ambient air in cities of
developed countries have mostly decreased in the last two or three decades, due to strict
emission control, increased use of low sulfur content fuel and industrial restructuring.
Consequently, the high SO2 concentrations in earlier decades have been replaced by
annual mean concentration of about 20-40 g/m3 in most cities of the developing
countries, and the daily average values rarely exceed 125 g/m3 (WHO, 1998). The
levels of SO2 observed in the present study are in conformity with the above observation.

5
 The residential, commercial and industrial areas in all the cities exhibited lower
concentration of whereas sensitive locations in few cities exhibited higher levels NO2
compared to the prescribed limits. The NO2 level ranged from 10.6 µg/m3 (Hisar) to 83.6
µg/m3 (Gurgaon) and 17.7 µg/m3 (Bhiwani) to 117.1 µg/m3 (Yamunanagar) in sensitive
and industrial areas, respectively. In most of the cities the annual mean concentration of
NO2 remains moderates or low, not exceeding 40 µg/m3 (WHO, 2000). However, in the
preseny study, the NO2 values recorded were relatively [Link] highest NO2 levels and
the increasing trends are observed in cities with high and increasing vehicular traffic.
Comparative account of cities based on average pollutant concentration shows
that Sonipat, Faridabad, Yamunanagar and Hisar were the most polluted followed by
Gurgaon, Panipat, Panchkula and Bhiwani (Fig 2). Similar results have been observed by
Bhanarkar et al. (2002) in a study to assess the air pollution concentrations in Haryana
sub region.
Since fine particulate matter has associated heavy metals and other priority
pollutants on its surface, it can pose serious threat to human health with special reference
to the respiratory disorders (Dockery et al., 1993a,b; pope et al., 1995). The association of
toxic elements with PM10 and smaller particles can be even more harmful as these can
penetrate deep into the respiratory tract. Hence, high levels of TSPM particularly of
PM10 are of major concern in health perspectives and there is an urgent need to regulate
the ambient air quality especially in sensitive areas because of exposure of sensitive
population i.e. the patients.

3.2. Seasonal variations

Seasonal comparison of SO2 and NO2 levels shows a higher value in winter than
observed in pre-monsoon and post monsoon seasons. Significantly high levels of SO2
were observed in January 1999 in comparison to the subsequent sampling period. The
probable reason for a sharp fall in SO2 concentration seems to be related with the
adoption of EURO I (European emissions and fuel regulations) standards nationwide in
the year 2000 for four wheeled light duty and heavy duty vehicles and hence the use of
low sulphur diesel (LSD) was recommended and observed. However, higher
concentration of SO2 noticed in few residential and commercial areas during winter
season could be related to the enhanced combustion of fuel for space heating. Apart from

6
it, comparatively stable atmospheric conditions in winter may also account for built up
concentration of ambient air pollutants (Ravindra et al., 2003 and 2005). The high NO2
concentrations, combined with the intensive UV radiation, results in photochemical smog
with high O3 concentration, which can adversely affect the human health. Studies
conducted by Singh et al., (1997) and Reddy et al., (2004) also confirm similar
phenomena in New Delhi and Vishakhapatnam , respectively.
A relative fall in TSPM, PM10 SO2 and NO2 levels during post-monsoon may be
due to the washout of these air pollutants by monsoon rains. Ravindra et al. (2003) have
also reported a significant decrease in SO2 (~38 %), NO2 (~44 %) and TSPM (~48%)
levels just after the initial shower of monsoon in Delhi. An increased concentration of
TSPM and PM10 was observed in pre-monsoon. The sources of such particulates are
vehicular and industrial emissions as also the suspended fine dust carried by the trans-
boundary winds from Rajasthan. This unique behavior of winds is generally observed
during months each year in Haryana.

3.3. Air Quality Index (AQI)

AQI is developed to provide the information about air quality. From a series of
observations, an index (a ratio or number) is derived which is an indicator or measure of
some condition or [Link] concentration of the major pollutants are monitored and
subsequently are converted into the AQI (Table 3) using standard formulae, which in the
present case are defined in experimental section. In the present investigation, the TSPM,
PM10, SO2 and NO2 level in various cities have been used to calculate AQI. The higher
value of an index refers to a greater level of air pollution and consequently greater health
risks.
The categorization of ambient air quality with respect to the AQI is presented in
Table 3. On the basis of AQI, it can be seen that the residential, sensitive and commercial
areas were moderately to severely polluted (AQI 50-125) and whereas the industrial
areas, on an average, lie in the range of fairly clean (AQI 25-50) to moderately polluted
(AQI 50-75) except the industrial area in Yamunanagar, which is moderately to heavily
polluted. It should be noted that for industrial area the norms for standard prescribed
concentration in comparison to other sites have been relaxed.

7
3.4. Health risk study of Hisar city
Various air pollutants are known to cause/ aggravate cardiac and respiratory
diseases like asthma, bronchitis and emphysema. Individuals with cardiovascular diseases
or chronic lung diseases, children and elderly are more susceptible (EPA, 2000). Though
the mechanisms are not fully explained, epidemiological evidence suggests that outdoor
air pollution is a contributing cause to morbidity and mortality (Bates, 1992; Katsouyanui
et al.; Kunzli et al., 2000). State-of-the-art epidemiological research has found consistent
and coherent associations between air pollution and various symptoms. Most of the air
pollution studies have been conducted in the developed countries. Epidemiological data
on the health effects of air pollutants are not abundant for most of the developing
countries, where a major proportion of the population lives in environmentally poor
conditions.
In the present study the data related to visit of patient for acute respiratory disease
was obtained (Table 4) from district civil hospital of Hisar city for the year 1999 and
2002. The comparison of the data shows a significant fall (< 40 %) in the total number of
patient who visited during 2002, which besides other reasons can be related to the fall in
SO2 and NO2 concentration in 2002 after the adoption on Euro I norms. It was also
noticed that a large number of patients visited hospitals during the winter season in
comparison to other seasons. During winter, cold weather condition with high levels of
pollutants may aggravate the condition of sensitive population and hence results in
increased hospital visits in the winter months.
4. Conclusion
Based on the study, it can be easily concluded that emission of SO2 and NO2 has
considerably been reduced after the adoption of LSD and catalytic converters in vehicles.
PM10 and TSPM are the chief air pollutants in most of the cities of Haryana, which pose
the health risks either alone, or in combination with other pollutants. The ambient
concentration of all the air pollutants decrease in post-monsoon as the monsoonal rain is
responsible for the washing of ambient air pollutants. When compared with respective
standards, the AQI of residential and commercial areas is high and indicates the possible
threat of air pollutants to the residents of these localities. The present study also reveals a
significant increase in the total number of patients admitted for respiratory problems in
winter.

8
 References
Bates D., Health indices of the adverse effects of air pollution: the question of coherence.
Environ. Res. 59 (1992), pp. 336–349.
Bhanarkar, A.D., Gajghate, D.G. and Hasan, M.Z.: 2002, Air pollution concentrations in
Haryana subregion, India, Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 69, 690-695.
Brandon C., HommanK. : 1995, The cost of inaction: Valuing the economy-wide cost of
environmental degradation in India, Worldbank, Washington DC.
C.P.C.B.: 2003, ‘Parivesh: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in air and their
effects on human health’ November 2003, Central Pollution Control Board,
Ministry of Environment and Forest, Delhi-32, Page 20.
([Link]
Dockery D.W., Pope C.A., Xu X., Spengler J.D., Ware J.H., Fay M.E., Ferris B., and
Speize, F.: 1993a, ‘An association between air pollution and morality in six US
cities’, New Eng. J. Med., 329, 1753-1759.
Dockery D.W., Schwartz J., and Spengler, D.:1993b, ‘Air pollution and daily mortality:
associations with particulates and acid Aerosols’, Environ. Res. 59, 362-373
(1993b).
EPA: 2000, Air Quality Index. A guide to air quality and your health. EPA 454/R-00-
005, Washington DC.
Gokhale, S.B. and Patil, R.S.: 2004, Size distribution of aerosols (PM10) and Lead (Pb)
near traffic intersections in Mumbai (India), Environ. Monit. Assess. 95, 311-324.
Gupta, H.K., Gupta VB, Rao, C.V.C, Gajghate, D.G. and Hasan, M.Z.: 2002, ‘Urban air
quality and its management strategy for a metropolitan city of India’, Bull.
Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 68, 347-354.
Katsouyanni K., Touloumi G. and Spix, C.:1997,’ Short-term effects of ambient sulphur
dioxide and particulate matter on mortality in 12 European cities: results from
times series data from the APHEA project’, BMJ 314, 1658–1663.
Künzli N., Kaiser R., Medina S., Studnicka M., Chanel O., Filliger P., Herry M., Horak,
Jr F., Puybonnieux-Texier V., Quénel P., Schneider J., Seethaler R., Vergnaud and
Sommer, H.: 2000, ‘Public-health impact of outdoor and traffic-related air
pollution: a European assessment’, The Lancet 356, 795-801.

9
Lodge J.P.: 1989, ‘Methods of air sampling and analysis’, (3rd edition), Lewes Publisher
Inc, Chelsea, Michigan, 403-406.
Pope A., Thun M., and Namboodiri M.: 1995, ‘Particulate air pollution as a predictor of
mortality in a prospective study of US adults’, Am J Respir Crit Care Med 151
669–674.
Ravindra K, Mittal A. K. and Van Grieken, R.: 2001, Health risk assessment of urban
suspended particulate matter with special reference to polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons: A review. [Link]. Health 16, 169-189, 2001.
Ravindra K., Mor S., Ameena, Kamyotra J.S. and Kaushik C.P.: 2003, Variation in
spatial pattern of criteria air pollutants before and during initial rain of monsoon,
Environ. Monit. Assess. 87, 145-153.
Ravindra, K., Mor, S., and Kaushik C.P.: 2003. Short-term variation in air quality
associated with firework event: A case study. J. Environ. Monit. 5, 260-264.
Ravindra, K., Wauters, E., Taygi, S. K., Mor S., and Grieken R. V.: 2005. Assessment of
air quality after the implementation of CNG as fuel in public transport in Delhi,
India. Environ. Monit. Asses., In press.
Reddy, M.K., Ramarao, K.G. and Rammohanrao, I.: 2004, Air pollution status of
Visakhapatnam (India) - Indices basis, Environ. Monit. Asses. 95, 1-12.
The World Bank: 1997, Urban air quality management strategy in Asia (URBAIR). 1818.
H street NW, Washington DC: 20433 USA.
Tiwari, T.N. and Ali, M.: 1987, Air Quality Index for Calcutta and its monthly variation
for various localities. Indian J. Environ. Prot. 7, 172-176.
WHO, 2000, Guidelines for air quality, World Health Organization, Genewa.
([Link]
WHO/UNEP Report: 1992, Urban air pollution in mega-cities of the world. World Health
Organisation and United Nations Environment Programme. Blackwell Publishers,
108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF Cambridge, UK.
WHO: 1998, ‘Healthy cities air management information system’, AMIS 2.0. CD ROM.
World Health Organization, Geneva.
WHO: 1999, ‘Guidelines for air quality’, World Health Organization, Geneva.

10
 Fig 1: Location of different cities selected for the sampling.

600 SO2 NOx PM10 TSPM

500
Concentration (g/m 3)

400

300

200

100

0
Bhiwani Gurgaon Faridabad Sonepat Panipat Y. Nagar Panchkula Hisar

Fig 2: Average concentration of different pollutants (µg/m3) in different cities of Haryana

11
 W int er,99 W int er,2000 P remonsoon P ost monsoon
80
S O2 conc. (ppm) 60
40
20
0
Bhiwani Gurgaon Faridabad Sonepat P anipat Yamunanagar P anchkula Hisar

80
NO 2 conc. (ppm)

60
40
20
0
Bhiwani Gurgaon Faridabad Sonepat P anipat Yamunanagar P anchkula Hisar
PM 10 conc. (µg m-3)

350
250
150
50
-50
Bhiwani Gurgaon Faridabad Sonepat P anipat Yamunanagar P anchkula Hisar

1200

1000
TSPM ( g/m3)

800

600

400

200

0
Bhiwani Gurgaon Faridabad Sonepat P anipat Yamunanagar P anchkula Hisar

City

Fig 3: Variation in average SO2, NO2, PM10 and TSPM levels during different season in
various cities of Haryana.

12
Table 1: National ambient air quality standards for 24 time weighted average.

Pollutants Concentration in ambient air (µg/m3)

Sensitive area Industrial area Residential area
SO2 30 120 80
NO2 30 120 80
TSPM 100 500 200
Source: CPCB, 2000

13
 Table 2: The average ambient air concentration of pollutants (µg/m3) and AQI for different cities of Haryana.
Jan., 99 Jan., 2000 June, 2000 Sept., 2000
SO2 NO2 PM10 TSPM AQI SO2 NO2 PM10 TSPM AQI SO2 NO2 PM10 TSPM AQI SO2 NO2 PM10 TSPM AQI
Bhiwani R 25.6 38.5 117 271.7 IV 8.8 36.2 103 571.9 IV 6.4 24.7 120 292.9 III 7 21.7 119 281.6 III
S 17.9 20.9 111 215.2 VI 2.1 14.8 56.5 104.1 III 2.4 16 108 284.1 IV 2.8 14.8 109 281 IV
C 28.2 31.9 191 587.3 VII 6.1 51.4 81.6 191.3 IV 7.1 42.2 129 316.8 IV 7.4 36.4 122 312.6 IV
I 15.6 23.9 84.9 157.3 II 6.8 22.1 59.5 314 II 6.5 21.3 109 229.4 III 6.6 17.7 103 192.5 III
Gurgaon R 25.5 59.4 154 325.6 V 15.1 40.2 318 488.9 V 18.8 32.5 324 495.8 V 15.5 32.5 286 431.6 V
S 26.9 83.6 200 421.1 VII 14.9 29.4 269 507.2 VII 18.9 24.5 270 508.2 VII 14.4 21.1 245 469.3 VII
C 53 84.5 215 610 VII 7.4 42 253 480.1 IV 21.5 35.2 308 539.4 VII 18.7 32.3 257 462.8 VII
I 26.7 58.5 150 271.7 III 8.5 52.1 301 399.4 III 9.4 47.7 305 416.8 V 9.1 42.6 290 387.5 III
Faridabad R 12.9 71.7 130 868 V 5.8 41.6 149 295.2 IV 7.5 40.3 172 326.6 IV 7.9 39.4 153 261.5 V
S 16.7 45.1 149 504.2 VII 4.9 31.4 133 315.2 VII 5.4 31.9 138 329.2 VII 5.2 32.2 129 279 V
C 94.9 97.7 261 1618 VII 10.2 49.8 171 582.3 V 14.2 52.7 186 579.8 V 11.6 44.8 176 432.1 IV
I 31.9 35.1 220 857.5 III 48.5 69.2 161 349.4 IV 41.9 54.4 181 486.4 IV 39.5 41.5 165 292 IV
Sonepat R 87 19.7 123 413.3 V 5.5 44.8 115 158.3 IV 5.1 44.9 116 195.1 III 4.8 44.2 74.2 161.6 III
S 49.8 78.4 122 403.6 VII 15.3 25.5 127 231.4 VI 14.2 29.2 138 256.5 VI 13.8 25.4 110 234.2 IV
C 46.6 74 322 1535.5 VII 15.6 73.5 430 1756.6 VII 16.7 52.9 409 1684.8 VII 16 45.7 326 804.2 VI
I 11 20.2 104 227.1 II 8.4 57.1 158 235.9 IV 17 48.7 172 261.1 IV 16.6 42 122 208.4 III
Panipat R 83.4 40.9 171 719.2 VII 13.5 29.3 78.1 228.8 III 10.2 25.9 106 274.2 III 9 21.9 99 189.9 III
S 42.3 34.4 78.2 243.9 VII 6.8 30.5 118 335.1 VI 5.4 26.9 131 361.1 V 4.9 21.6 123 245.2 V
C NA 93.4 199 1124.4 VII 11.6 49 161 374.4 V 16.6 46.1 172 395.3 V 15.7 41.4 156 271.5 IV
I 43 31.5 138 338.5 III 16.2 59.3 86.7 151.7 III 16.9 47 128 235 III 16 42.1 84.2 126.4 III
[Link] R 55.4 48.7 147 387.4 VI 31.9 50.8 129 306.6 V 30.3 25.5 119 392.2 IV 23.9 24.2 92.5 208.2 IV
S 53.8 50.1 119 252.3 VII 7.8 17.4 109 221.7 V 7.4 19.4 104 234.2 V 6.4 17.2 84.9 202.3 IV
C 78.7 69.2 148 413.2 VII 8.5 30.3 225 589.7 V 9.4 35.9 173 572.9 IV 8.9 33.5 127 428 IV
I 129 117 303 1075.8 VII 55.2 53.2 298 807.6 V 43.1 46.7 392 809.3 V 39.9 41.3 235 512.8 IV
Panchkula R 17 17.5 80.2 286.5 III 8.6 24 120 285.7 III 6.2 23.6 123 307.5 III 6.1 22.5 104 242.3 III
S 8 17.5 32 108.3 IV 8.4 17.4 72.4 162.5 V 7.6 21.8 109 218.6 V 7.7 21 51.4 134.2 IV
C 41.1 33.5 80.4 395.7 V 8.4 21.5 173 700.2 V 8.7 24.4 184 721.4 IV 9.1 24.6 116 430 IV
I 23 30.2 126 328.5 III 39.9 33.5 116 521.4 IV 30.3 27.2 143 582.7 IV 23.6 25 109 408.2 III
Hisar R 3.7 10.2 61.7 159.5 II 3.3 10.1 104 282.9 III 13.8 16.3 108 306.5 III 10.1 11.1 105 282.4 III
S 4.1 10.6 52.8 137.6 III 3.8 20.1 123 313.9 V 24.5 24.7 343 812.1 VII 22.2 20.5 319 804.5 VII
C 16.4 19.9 77.9 244.5 III 20.9 82.2 392 885 VII 29.3 56.2 386 844.3 VII 28.4 55.2 381 805.9 VII
I NA NA NA NA 27.4 80.7 170 270.4 IV 36.1 64.2 172 292.6 IV 33.9 61.8 161 278.8 IV
NA- Data not available;R- Residential;S- Sensitive;C- Commercial and I- Industrial

14
Table 3: Air quality categories based on AQI.
Category AQI of ambient air Description of ambient air quality
I Below 10 Very clean
II Between 10-25 Clean
III Between 25-50 Fairly clean
IV Between 50-75 Moderately polluted
V Between 75- 100 Polluted
VI Between 100-125 Heavily polluted
VII Above 125 Severely polluted

15
Table 4: Data on patients with respiratory disease, collected from District Civil Hospital,
Hisar.
Months/ Year Patient visited Patient admitted
Male Female Total Male Female Total
January 1999 * * 995 * * 31
2002 287 251 538 47 31 78
February 1999 249 201 450 16 12 28
2002 * * * * * *
March 1999 209 128 347 19 12 31
2002 138 72 210 12 9 21
April 1999 168 140 318 15 5 20
2002 * * * * * *
May 1999 * * * * * *
2002 30 42 72 7 5 12
June 1999 281 173 454 18 14 32
2002 111 97 208 6 3 9
July 1999 382 212 594 24 18 42
2002 121 87 208 7 2 9
August 1999 288 176 464 19 11 30
2002 130 74 204 17 4 21
September 1999 212 194 406 30 15 45
2002 140 64 204 15 3 18
October 1999 304 207 521 50 18 68
2002 * * * * * *
November 1999 385 270 655 62 24 86
2002 * * * * * *
December 1999 634 390 1024 120 60 180
2002 * * * * * *

* No data available

16