Poor air quality is a major concern in North India during winters.
As winter approaches India, the issue of poor air quality plagues many cities in the northern part of the country. In the fight against this serious environmental threat, scientists and environmentalists have looked far and wide for various solutions.
Plant-based sparks can alter surrounding air quality in ways never previously thought, according to new research. However, whether the effect of these small tremors in the atmosphere is positive or negative is not clear.
Scientists are aware that plants and trees can emit small, visible electrical discharges from the tips of their leaves when they are trapped under the electric fields generated by thunderstorms high overhead. The discharge, called coronas, sometimes appears as a faint, blue spark that flashes around charged objects, the study said.
in a study published in Journal of Geophysical Research: AtmosphereResearchers from Pennsylvania State University’s Department of Meteorology reconstructed lightning fields in a labyrinth of thunderstorms and analyzed the corona given off by eight plant species under multiple conditions.
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After analysis, the discharge created a high abundance of chemicals with unpaired electrons that are highly reactive with other compounds. These compounds can significantly alter the surrounding air quality.
According to the World Health Organization, pollutants of major public health concern include particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Outdoor and indoor air pollution causes respiratory and other diseases and are significant sources of morbidity and mortality.
Jenkins, an atmospheric scientist at Pennsylvania State University, said Statement“While little is known about how widespread these discharges are, we speculate that the coronas produced on trees in thunderstorms may have a substantial effect on the surrounding air.”