Measurements of ozone and its precursor nitrogen dioxide and crop yield losses due to cumulative ozone exposures over 40 ppb (AOT40) in rural coastal southern India

Abstract

Measurements of ground level ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and meteorological parameters (air temperature, relative humidity and wind speed and direction) has been made for 3 years from March 2007 to February 2010 at Nagercoil (8.2°N, 77.5°E, 23 m above sea level), an equatorial rural coastal site of southern India. The monthly average of daytime maximum of O3 concentrations ranged from 28 to 50 parts per billion (ppb) with an annual average of 19.8 ppb. Similarly, monthly average of NO2 concentration ranged from 3.4 ppb to 7.7 ppb with an annual average of 5.3 ppb. The monthly variation of meteorological parameters shows the little changes being a coastal site. The estimated summer crops yield losses by 1.1–15.6 % from present O3 concentration level associated with AOT40 index 3.1–5 ppm h.