ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Investigating the Influence of Seasonal Variability
and Urban Green Spaces on Ambient Air Quality
in an Urban Environment
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1
Institute of Forest Sciences, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan
2
Institute of Environmental Studies, University of Karachi, Pakistan
3
Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture, Fasialabad, Pakistan
4
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur,
Bahawalpur, 63100, Pakistan
5
Department of Forestry and Range Management, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan
6
Department of Environmental Sciences, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan
7
Department of Forestry, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan
8
Department of Botany, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan
9
Department of Ecology, School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University Hefei, China
10
Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. 2455, Riyadh 11451,
Saudi Arabia
Submission date: 2023-09-17
Final revision date: 2024-01-10
Acceptance date: 2024-01-31
Online publication date: 2024-07-01
Publication date: 2024-07-25
Corresponding author
Usman Zulfiqar
Agronomy, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan, Pakistan
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2024;33(6):6323-6332
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ABSTRACT
Global urbanization and increased emissions worsen air pollution, impacting both the environment and health.
Despite initiatives like Pakistan’s Clean Air Program and monitoring stations, inadequate management still fails
to meet air quality standards, posing risks to environmental health and quality of life. Thus, this study aimed to
find out the fluctuations in air quality due to seasonal variations and vegetation cover. The present study was
conducted in the spring and autumn season in Faisalabad city at selected locations. A geographic information
system (GIS) was utilized to map the air quality parameters in the study area. CO2, CO, temperature, relative
humidity (RH), sound intensity, and particulate matter were measured in the city area. Air pollutants were
found to be considerably higher than the 24-hour standards of NEQS in spring compared to the autumn season,
which harms air quality and health. The CO2, CO, temperature, relative humidity, PM0.5, PM1.0, PM2.5, and
sound intensity values ranged from 320-370 and 340-390 ppm, 3.0-5.5, and 8.5-11 ppm, 20-33 and 11-21 oC,
30-55 and 40-65%, 20-45 and 30-55 μg/m3, 75-100 and 80-105 μg/m3, 110-135 and 120-145 μg/m3, and 40–65
and 35–60 dB, for spring and autumn seasons respectively. Furthermore, the air quality parameters achieved
maximum values in S1 (poorly vegetated areas) rather than S5 (densely vegetated areas). These significant
changes in air quality parameters highlight the necessity for frequent monitoring to take proper actions in
reducing air contaminants, particularly in poorly vegetated, industrial, and commercial areas.