Title: Annual and seasonal spatiotemporal variation of six air pollutants and their trend in Hyderabad

Authors: Gourav Suthar; Nivedita Kaul; Sumit Khandelwal

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 302017, India ' Department of Civil Engineering, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 302017, India ' Department of Civil Engineering, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 302017, India

Abstract: Air pollution poses a critical environmental and public health challenge in rapidly urbanising cities like Hyderabad. This study analyses the annual and seasonal spatiotemporal variations of six air pollutants PM_2.5, SO₂, NO₂, CO, O₃, and NH₃ in Hyderabad (2019 to 2021) using data from six monitoring stations. PM_2.5 and NO₂ concentrations exceeded WHO and Indian standards. Positive matrix factorisation (PMF) identified major emission sources. Spatial interpolation with kriging models showed higher pollutant concentrations, with Gaussian and Spherical models had the most accurate results. Meteorological parameters such as humidity, wind speed, and temperature significantly influenced pollutant variability which was found using impact and correlation analyses. Health burden assessment via AirQ+ indicated a substantial impact of air pollution on ischemic heart disease and other respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. The study combines advanced techniques to provide a detailed, location-specific understanding of air pollution dynamics and health impacts.

Keywords: air pollution; particulate matter; CAAQMS; bivariate polar plots; regression; wind rose; kriging interpolation; positive matrix factorisation; AirQ+; Spearman's correlation; source apportionment; burden of disease.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEWM.2026.155083

International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 2026 Vol.40 No.3, pp.310 - 339

Accepted: 09 Jun 2025
Published online: 27 Jul 2026 *

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