Spatial and seasonal variation of outdoor BC and PM2.5 in densely populated urban slums.

Abstract

A large proportion of residents in urban centers of low- and middle-income countries live in low-socioeconomic neighborhoods called "slums" characterized by low-cost housings of high population density, poor ventilation, and likely poor air quality. This study provides the first quantitative assessment of spatial and seasonal variation of outdoor BC and PM2.5 concentrations in several densely populated slums of Mumbai, India. Mobile outdoor real-time BC and PM2.5 monitoring was conducted along pre-designed monitoring routes in seven slums in Mumbai during the summer (May-June 2015 and May 2016) and repeated in four of them during the winter (February 2016). The measurements were repeated on the routes during different hours and days to account for the temporal variability of air pollution (nsummer = 80 trips; nwinter = 48 trips). PM2.5 exhibited homogenous distribution inside each slum (coefficient of divergence (COD) = 0.11-0.23), while BC varied significantly showing increasing concentrations with proximity to major roads (COD = 0.26-0.64). BC/PM2.5 ratio, an indicator of impact of traffic emissions, was higher along major roads of all slums (14-43%) and minor roads and alleys of high-traffic slums (10-17%) while lowest along alleys and minor roads of low-traffic slums (7-11%). Comparison of pollutant concentrations among major roads revealed the dominant effect of emissions from heavy-duty vehicles and traffic congestion. Significantly high concentrations were observed during winter season compared with summer for both PM2.5 (125 ± 46 μg m-3 in winter and 41 ± 25 μg m-3 in summer) and BC (12 ± 6 μg m-3 in winter and 7 ± 6 μg m-3 in summer). The results of this study indicate that slum residents in Mumbai and similar slums around the world are at a higher risk of traffic-related air pollution, with risk being more severe in winters due to poorer dispersion conditions. Our findings suggest that targeted mitigation strategies to reduce vehicular emissions, especially in high-traffic slums, would yield required benefits.Graphical abstract.