Low-cost NO₂ monitoring and predictions of urban exposure using universal kriging and land-use regression modelling in Mysore, India

In Low- and Middle-Income Countries, rapid urbanization has led to poorer air quality, yet pollution monitoring networks are often sparse or non-existent. Few previous studies have sought to understand the unique predictors of air pollution exposure in Indian urban environments. Our study monitored and modeled nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) in Mysore, a rapidly urbanizing city in India. NO₂ sampling was conducted in four seasonal campaigns (each lasting 2 weeks) in 2016–2017, at 150 sites throughout Mysore. Seasonal spatial interpolation of NO₂ levels was conducted using 2 distinct models, the first utilizing a land use regression (LUR) approach and the second using universal kriging methods. Model performance was determined using adjusted R², and validated using leave-one-out cross validation. Measured NO₂ concentrations ranged from 0.3 to 51.9 ppb across the four seasons of the study period, with higher concentrations in the center of the city. In the LUR model (R² = 0.535), proximity to major roads, point sources of pollution such as industrial sites and religious points of interest (PoI), land uses with high human activity, and high population density were associated with higher levels of NO₂. Proximity to minor roads and coverage of land uses characterized by low human activity were inversely associated with air pollution. Cross-validation of results confirmed the reliability of each model. Few studies have applied spatially heterogeneous sampling to assess ambient air pollution levels in India. The combination of passive NO₂ sampling and LUR/kriging modeling methods allowed for characterization of NO₂ patterns in Mysore. While previous work indicates traffic pollution as a major contributor to ambient air pollution levels in urbanizing centers in Asia, our results indicate the influence of other pollution factors (e.g., point sources), as well as highly localized characteristics of the urban environment (e.g., proximity to religious points of interest) in urban India. Areas of Mysore consistently experienced pollution in excess of World Health Organization (WHO) health-protective guidelines for NO₂.