Source Profiling of Air Pollution and its Association with Acute Respiratory Infections in the Himalayan Bound Region of India

The studies related to air pollution and its association with human health over the mountainous region are of utmost importance, and are sparse especially over the Himalayan region of India. This study gives an understanding of increase in the occurrence of respiratory diseases due to the accumulation of pollutants during winter season in the Himalayan region (Kashmir valley). The linkages between various atmospheric variables and clinically validated data have been done using various datasets procured from the satellite, model reanalysis and surface observations. Monthly managed data from 2013-2017 for upper and lower respiratory tract infections is obtained from the Ministry of health, Government of India. Aerosol optical depth, air temperature, and wind speed are significantly related (p <0.001) to the incidence of acute respiratory infections with its peak during winter. Model derived particulate matters having aerodynamic diameters less than 2.5 µm (PM 2.5 ) shows high contribution of black carbon, organic carbon and sulphate during winter. This is mainly due to the burning of biomass and biofuels (both indoor and outdoor) with low planetary boundary layer height, accumulating high air pollution and deteriorating air quality during winter months that affects the respiratory health of the habitants. The wind roses generated shows the passage of winds from western side of the region surrounded by Pir panjal Himalayan sub division. Concentrated weighted trajectory analysis has shown that most of the winds coming from the western side are taking southward direction before reaching the study area and may be bringing pollutants from Indo-Gangetic Plain. Our study shows that the accumulation of pollutants in the Himalayan valley is owing to the meteorological stability with significant emissions from burning of biomass and biofuels during winter season, that significantly correlated with the incidence of acute respiratory infections in the region.