Deterioration of visibility at Bombay airport due to atmospheric pollutants

Abstract

As seen from round-the-clock current, weather observations, the total number of occassions in the year when the visibility over Bombay airport deteriorated to less than 3000 metres was only 9 in 1956 whereas the figures rose to 574 in 1970. This large increase, it has been found, is mainly due to the markedly high frequency of visibility deterioration during recent years in the early hours of the morning of the cold weather period, December to February. The poor visibility conditions seem to develop generally not due to moist phenomena like mist or fog but due to suspended particulate matter and smoke factory chimneys and domestic fires which move or stagnate over the eastern side of the aerodrome under the prevailing and conditions. It has been shown that the concentration of factories/population towards the east and north of the airport is the source of these atmospheric pollutants. The conditions under which prolonged spells of poor visibility, occur have also been discussed.