Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 8533–8549, 2020 https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8533-2020 © Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Particle number concentrations and size distribution in a polluted megacity: the Delhi Aerosol Supersite study Shahzad Gani1, Sahil Bhandari2, Kanan Patel2, Sarah Seraj1, Prashant Soni3, Zainab Arub3, Gazala Habib3, Lea Hildebrandt Ruiz2, and Joshua S. Apte1 1Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA 2McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA 3Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India Correspondence: Joshua S. Apte (
[email protected]) and Lea Hildebrandt Ruiz (
[email protected]) Received: 2 January 2020 – Discussion started: 17 February 2020 Revised: 25 May 2020 – Accepted: 8 June 2020 – Published: 22 July 2020 Abstract. The Indian national capital, Delhi, routinely expe- that a reduction in mass concentration, especially in winter, riences some of the world’s highest urban particulate matter may not produce a proportional reduction in PN concentra- concentrations. While fine particulate matter (PM2:5) mass tions. Strategies that only target accumulation mode particles concentrations in Delhi are at least an order of magnitude (which constitute much of the fine PM2:5 mass) may even higher than in many western cities, the particle number (PN) lead to an increase in the UFP concentrations as the coagula- concentrations are not similarly elevated. Here we report on tion sink decreases. 1.25 years of highly time-resolved particle size distribution (PSD) data in the size range of 12–560 nm.