Advancing MoES Air Quality Monitoring and Forecasting in Indian Cities: Insights from SAFAR and MAPAN, toward MAPAN-II, with Focus on the Himalayas and Oceanic Outflows
Amélioration du système de surveillance et de prévision de la qualité de l'air du ministère des Sciences de la Terre dans les villes indiennes : enseignements tirés de SAFAR et MAPAN, en vue de MAPAN-II, avec un accent particulier sur l'Himalaya et les flux océaniques
Anand, Vrinda ; Ghude, Sachin D. ; Panicker, Abhilash S. ; Govardhan, Gaurav ; Jat, Rajmal ; Maji, Sujit ; Rathod, Aditi ; Shinde, Rajanikant ; Kori, Pramod ; Soni, V. K. ; Rao, Molla Nageswar ; Mukherjee, Arkabanee ; Khamgaonkar, Kalyani ; Pakkattil, Anoop ; Varghese, Anu ; Yadav, Prafull P. ; Roy, Chaitri ; Wagh, Sandeep ; Kadam, Vikram
Année de publication
2026
Ambient air pollution is a critical environmental and public health issue, particularly in Indian metropolitan cities. To address this, the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) was developed by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, in 2010 during the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, providing high-resolution air quality monitoring and forecasting. The program was later expanded to Pune, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad to offer air quality forecasts. SAFAR's unique feature lies in its network of monitoring stations situated in diverse microenvironments across urban, semiurban, residential, and industrial areas. Complementing this, the Modeling Air Pollution and Networking (MAPAN) system was established to integrate air pollution data from across India for improved forecasting. This paper reviews SAFAR and MAPAN, focusing on long-term data of particulate matter and air quality index (AQI) variations across metropolitan cities, and highlights the integration with the Air Quality Warning and Integrated Decision Support System for Emissions (AIRWISE) for high-resolution forecasting and decision-making. Long-term observations show a decline (3.03 ± 0.39 ?g m?3 yr?1) in PM2.5 in Delhi, reflecting the positive impact of monitoring on policy implementation. The increasing frequency of "good" and "satisfactory" AQI days in Delhi suggests an improvement in air quality. However, the average carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration across Indian metropolitan regions shows an upward trend from 2014 to 2023 (an increase of 9 ppm yr?1). Following the success of these initiatives, the MAPAN program is expanding to its second phase to include air quality monitoring and modeling in the Himalayan and oceanic outflow regions. Significance Statement Air pollution has emerged as a critical public health concern across Indian metropolitan areas, affecting a substantial portion of the population. Implementing the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) and Modeling Air Pollution and Networking (MAPAN) programs enabled city-specific, real-time air quality monitoring and forecasting. These networks have not only increased public and governmental awareness of air pollution concerns but have also directly informed policy action?such as graded response action plans and targeted mitigation measures?especially in critical urban centers like Delhi. The integration of SAFAR with the Air Quality Warning and Integrated Decision Support System for Emissions (AIRWISE) has strengthened the ability of authorities to enact timely interventions, such as school closures and traffic restrictions during severe pollution episodes. Collectively, these air quality programs are now central to air quality management strategies in India and have provided robust scientific insights into the sources and dynamics of regional air pollution.</div>
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