Analysis of aerosol liquid water content and its role in visibility reduction in Delhi

Aerosols undergo significant changes due to water uptake under high RH conditions, leading to changes in physical, optical, and chemical properties. Detailed assessment and investigation are needed to understand better aerosol liquid water content (ALWC) characteristics in highly polluted regions like Delhi. Therefore, in this study, we examined the mass concentration and the factors governing the ALWC associated with PM2.5 in Delhi for two winters (Dec 2019 to Jan 2020 and Dec 2020 to Feb 2021) using the real-time measurements of NR-PM2.5 from Aerodyne aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) and the application of thermodynamic modeling (ISORROPIA II). The average NR-PM2.5 mass concentration in the 2020-2021 winter was 152 mu g/m3, about 50 % higher than the average mass concentration of 102 mu g/m3 in 2019-2020. Consequently, the ALWC was also 60 % higher during 2020-2021, with an average mass concentration of 150 mu g/m3. ALWC increased exponentially with RH and is significant when RH > 80 %. Further, all the inorganic components of NR-PM2.5 were found to contribute significantly to ALWC uptake; however, the relative contribution varied in different RH conditions. Ammonium sulphate dominated the ALWC uptake among the inorganic components at low RH, but ammonium nitrate was the dominant contributor at high RH. The decreased chloride mass fraction in inorganics in the recent winters reduced its relative contribution to ALWC. High ALWC mass concentration during high PM2.5 and high RH leads to a significant reduction in visibility. We further validated this visibility reduction by estimating the enhanced light scattering coefficient (f(RH)) and found that the hygroscopic growth is responsible for the enhanced visibility reduction during high RH conditions (> 85 %) when light scattering efficiency increased by a factor of >3.5. Sensitivity tests of f(RH) on mass concentration of inorganic salts showed that all the salts contributed almost equally. As revealed in our study, variations in PM2.5 mass concentration and composition despite similar meteorological conditions between different winters indicate changing regional aerosol emissions. Therefore, long-term observations of ALWC and PM2.5 chemical composition are required to arrive at actionable measures and mitigation strategies. Further, the focus should be on reducing the overall inorganic mass concentrations of PM2.5 in general, decreasing the absolute ALWC, and improving visibility.

Automated summary

This study examined the characteristics of aerosol liquid water content (ALWC) in PM2.5 in Delhi using real-time measurements and thermodynamic modeling. The results showed that ALWC increased by 60% in the winter of 2020-2021 compared to the previous year, with an exponential relationship with relative humidity (RH) and significant increase when RH > 80%. Ammonium sulphate and ammonium nitrate were the main contributors to ALWC, with their relative contributions varying under different RH conditions. Increased ALWC due to high PM2.5 and RH resulted in a significant reduction in visibility.