Mayank Pandey

The present long-term study was conducted for the first time to assess the change in barren land cover in all the districts of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh in India between 1985 and 2023, using the LANDSAT series and SENTINEL – 2 satellite datasets through random forest-based supervised classification with different decision tree combinations. The results of the study revealed that barren land cover has increased by 1808 square kilometre in Jammu and Kashmir while more than twenty-five thousand square kilometre in Ladakh. Between 1985 and 2005, barren land could not be identified by the satellite in most of the districts, except Anantnag, Kargil, Kathua, Kishtwar and Leh. Barren land cover increased significantly in the region from 2005 onwards in all the districts. In Kishtwar, the barren land cover increased from 2.65 sq. km in 2005 to 1731.85 sq. km in 2016. Similarly, high rise in barren land cover was observed in Anantnag (17.08 sq. km – 228.06 sq. km), Badgam (7.26 sq. km – 46.05 sq. km), Bandipore (70.24 sq. km – 268.38 sq. km), Kathua (4.1 sq. km – 21.91 sq. km), Kulgam (27.45 sq. km – 114.6 sq. km) and Rajouri (1.62 sq. km – 13 sq. km) within a decade (2005 – 2016). However, decline in the barren land cover was observed in all the districts between 2016 and 2023. Results revealed that built-up area has also increased significantly in the recent past in Jammu and Kashmir (6062 sq. km) and Ladakh (548 sq. km). The barrenness index (2023) varied from 0.0002 (Udhampur) to1.45 (Leh), while the built-up index for the year 2023 ranged between 0.004 (Kargil) and 0.93 (Poonch). Constructions in the border area and strategically important locations are indispensable for the national security. However, rapid, illegal and unplanned construction in the urban and peri-urban areas may attract many unavoidable events like urban floods. Results from the present study also emphasise the role of environmental governance in the region. Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh have international border areas with strategically important locations. Therefore, the concerned authorities should develop and implement effective targeted policies to control urban sprawl in the region and promote sustainable development.

The present long-term study has been conducted with dual objectives: firstly, to monitor the spatio-temporal variation of ambient air quality parameters and secondly, to evaluate the impact of air pollutants on the Delhi population. Five years (January 2019 to December 2023) of data of six key pollutants (PM₁₀, PM_2.5, NO₂, O₃, Benzene, and Toluene) were collected by continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations, obtained from the Central Pollution Control Board portal. The impact of air pollutants on human health was assessed using different indices and the AirQ+ model developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Additionally, the ozone formation potential (OFP) of benzene and toluene was evaluated. The findings of the study revealed that the concentrations of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 exceeded both national and global guidelines across all the sites throughout the study period. Notably, industrial sites were classified as the severe category according to the National Air Quality Index. At industrial sites, the OFP of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was observed to be higher in comparison to commercial sites. The AirQ+ model analysis in the health risk assessment indicated a strong association between PM₁₀ exposure and mortality from respiratory (91.36%) and chronic bronchitis (90.85%) diseases. Additionally, long-term PM_2.5 exposure was linked to an increased risk of stroke (65%) and circulatory (63.83%) mortality.

Air pollution is increasing at a frightening pace due to emissions from industrial plants and manufacturing activities and other anthropogenic activities affecting living beings, property, and environment. This study aims to monitor the impact of COVID-19-induced lockdown and unlock down phases on the air quality of Jaipur city, Rajasthan, India by assessing the change in ambient air quality during pre-COVID-19 (January 2018–December 2019) and COVID-19 (January 2020–December 2021) phases by evaluating air quality parameters (PM₁₀, PM_2.5, NO₂, O₃, Benzene and o-Xylene) using ground station data. Outcome of the study revealed that the ambient air quality improved significantly during lockdown phases (March–May 2020) as the percentage change in concentration of studied parameters declined by more than 100% at different sites. However, the concentrations tend to escalate with the introduction of unlock down phases (June–December 2020) and the onset of winter season (October–December 2020) aggravated the conditions. The AQI touched moderate and poor category many times during study period. Student’s t-test was conducted on the dataset. Results revealed significant difference in the concentration of air pollutants between pre-covid and covid period.