Intensive crop residue burning (CRB) in northern India triggers severe air pollution episodes over the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) each year during October and November. We have quantified the contribution of hotspot districts (HSDs) and total CRB to poor air quality over the IGP. Initially, we investigated the spatiotemporal distribution of CRB fire within the domain and pinpointed five HSD in each Punjab and Haryana. Furthermore, we have simulated air quality and quantified the impact of CRB using the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem), incorporating recent anthropogenic emissions (EDGAR v5) and biomass burning emissions (FINN v2.4) inventories, along with MOZART-MOSAIC chemistry. The key finding is that HSDs contributed ∼80% and ∼50% of the total fire counts in Haryana and Punjab, respectively. The model effectively captured observed PM₂.₅ concentrations, with a normalized mean bias (NMB) below 0.2 and R-squared (R) exceeding 0.65 at the majority of validation sites. However, some discrepancies were observed at a few sites in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and West Bengal. The National Capital Region experienced the highest PM₂.₅ concentrations, followed by Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal. Moreover, HSDs were responsible for about 70% of the total increase in CRB-induced PM₂.₅ in the western, central, and eastern cities, and around 50% in the northern cities. By eliminating CRB emissions across the domain, we could potentially save approximately 18,000 lives annually. Policymakers, scientists, and institutions can leverage the framework to address air pollution at national and global scales by targeting source-specific hotspots. This approach, coupled with appropriate technological and financial solutions, can contribute to achieving climate change and sustainable development goals.

中文翻译：

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印度恒河平原农作物秸秆燃烧季节热点造成的空气污染


每年 10 月和 11 月，印度北部的农作物秸秆密集燃烧 (CRB) 都会引发印度恒河平原 (IGP) 严重的空气污染事件。我们量化了热点地区 (HSD) 和总 CRB 对 IGP 空气质量较差的影响。最初，我们调查了域内 CRB 火灾的时空分布，并在旁遮普邦和哈里亚纳邦各确定了 5 个 HSD。此外，我们使用天气研究和预报模型与化学 (WRF-Chem) 相结合，模拟了空气质量并量化了 CRB 的影响，并结合了最近的人为排放 (EDGAR v5) 和生物质燃烧排放 (FINN v2.4) 清单，以及与莫扎特-马赛克化学。主要发现是 HSD 分别占哈里亚纳邦和旁遮普邦总火灾数的 80% 和 50%。该模型有效捕获了观测到的 PM2.5 浓度，大多数验证站点的归一化平均偏差 (NMB) 低于 0.2，R 平方 (R) 超过 0.65。然而，在德里、旁遮普邦、哈里亚纳邦和西孟加拉邦的一些地点观察到了一些差异。国家首都地区的 PM2.5 浓度最高，其次是旁遮普邦、哈里亚纳邦、北方邦、比哈尔邦和西孟加拉邦。此外，在西部、中部和东部城市，HSD 约占 CRB 引起的 PM2.5 总增量的 70%，在北部城市约占 50%。通过消除整个领域的 CRB 排放，我们每年有可能挽救约 18,000 条生命。政策制定者、科学家和机构可以利用该框架，通过针对特定来源的热点来解决国家和全球范围内的空气污染问题。 这种方法加上适当的技术和金融解决方案，可以有助于实现气候变化和可持续发展目标。