A Comprehensive Study: Seasonal Variation of BTEX in Ambient Air of Aligarh, Uttar Predesh, India

Volatile organic control of the air quality in the cities is becoming an issue especially when referring to BTEX- Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylene as a result of rapid growth of cities and high traffic and industrial engagements in ambient air of Aligarh. The current research paper determines the seasonal variability of the ambient BTEX concentration in Aligarh, an urban expanding province in western Uttar Pradesh, India. Passive diffusion and complementary active air samples were conducted in one-year period and BTEX levels were analyzed in summer and monsoon seasons and winter seasons. Meteorological parameters were also measured at the same time as the BTEX concentrations of the gas phase was determined by gas chromatography with Flame Ionization Detection (GC-FID). The findings suggest that moderate concentrations of BTEX were the most popular finding at the presence of all the compounds, winter was the highest in both seasonal exceedances. The greatest rate of exceedance was 36% of benzene followed by toluene (30%), xylene (26%), and ethylbenzene (18%). It can be predicted seasonally with the colder months being of higher risk since the atmospheric mixing is less, and increased combustion emissions during colder months increase the health hazard. The study indicates that consistent air quality surveying is vital in tier-2 cities such as Aligarh and offers the much-needed fundamental information to make specific intervention actions and guidelines on environmental health in Aligarh City.