Seasonal progression of surface ozone and NOx concentrations over three tropical stations in North-East India

Abstract

Monitoring of surface ozone (O3) and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) are vital for understanding the variation and exposure impact of these trace gases over the habitat. The present study analyses the in situ observations of surface O3 and NOx for January–December 2016, for the first time over three sites of North-Eastern India (Aizwal, Gauhati and Tezpur). The sites are major cities of north-eastern India, located in the foothills of Eastern Himalaya and have no industrial impacts. We have analysed the seasonal variation of O3 and NOx and found that the site Tezpur, which is in the valley area of Eastern Himalaya, is experiencing higher values of pollutants persisting for a long time compared to the other two stations. The correlation of surface O3 with the air temperature at all three sites suggested that all the O3 may not be locally produced, but has the contribution of transported pollution reaching to stations. The study also attempts to discover the existing variability in the surface O3 and NOx over the study area by employing continuous wavelet analysis.