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Descripción
This study reports a very high-resolution (400 m grid-spacing) operational air quality forecasting system developed to alert residents of Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) about forthcoming acute air pollution episodes. The system assimilates near real-time aerosol observations from in situ (260 stations) and space-borne platform in the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) to produce a 72-h forecast daily in a dynamical downscaling framework. Such a high-resolution system has been developed for the first time and is evaluated during the winter seasons. The assimilation of aerosol optical depth and surface PM2.5 observations improves the initial condition for surface PM2.5. Our forecast is found to be very skillful both for PM2.5 concentration and unhealthy/ very unhealthy air quality index categories and has been helping the decision-makers in Delhi make informed decisions. We have further extended the AQEWS with a Decision Support System (DSS) for air-quality management in Delhi. DSS provides quantitative information about a) The contribution of emissions from Delhi and the surrounding 19 districts to the air quality in Delhi, b) The contribution of emissions from 8 different emission sectors in Delhi to the air quality Delhi, c) The contribution from biomass-burning activities in the neighboring states to the degradation of air quality in Delhi, and d) The effects of possible emission source-level interventions on the forecasted severe air-quality event in Delhi. This information would explicitly highlight the most important emission sources responsible for the degraded air quality in Delhi and suggest possible solutions to the policymakers. With a plethora of quantitative data, the AQEWS integrated with DSS will be an essential tool for air-quality management in Delhi and the surrounding region.
