Ambient air quality of Katra town (J&K): A study with reference to SO2 and NO2 contents

The monitoring of ambient air quality has been taken up for Katra which is an important town of Jammu and Kashmir state from economic as well as religious point of view. The data collected from selected locations of residential areas, commercial areas and traffic crossings with respect to SO₂ and NO₂ for a period of two years i.e. July 2010-June 2012, revealed variations in ambient SO₂ and NO₂ concentrations throughout the study period. Traffic crossings and commercial areas recorded the higher concentrations of SO₂ and NO₂ in comparison to residential areas. Higher concentrations of both the selected pollutants have been recorded in the year 2011–2012 as compared to 2010–2011 at all the sites except two traffic crossings.