Role of winds and air masses in the transport of non-local Pinus sp. pollen at an urban location in North India: A statistical perspective

Airborne pollen is not uniformly spread in the urban environment. They are influenced by vegetation, weather parameters (mainly wind speed and direction) and the built environment. Pinus sp. pollen was reported in the aerobiological load of Chandigarh, a non-native species. Therefore, the study investigates Pinus sp. pollen potential source and origin. The current study examined the effect of local wind direction and the transboundary air mass movement on the temporal distribution pattern of Pinus sp., which was recorded in a city located in Indo-Gangetic Plains, India. An integrated platform having HYSPLIT, GIS and statistical analysis were used to explain the aerobiological load of Pinus sp. pollen based on spatial and temporal variability in an urban environment. The comprehensive circular statistical analysis was found to be complementary to cluster trajectories at 10 m height, contrary to regional trajectories. This revealed that Pinus sp. pollen originated from potential sources close to Chandigarh and were unrelated to the regional air mass transmission scale. One possible source area for Pinus sp. pollen might be Kasauli and Solan, which is well-documented in the literature. There are also evidence that suggests that long-range transport of allergic pollen sp. Could enhance the exposure and public health risk. Hence, there is a need to understand the dispersal pattern of long-range transport of Pinus sp. pollen and other allergic pollen sp. Under varying urban meteorological conditions.