Assessment of the air and water quality in popular tourist hotspots and ecotourism zones in the hilly state of Sikkim
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31305/rrijm.2024.v09.n05.012Keywords:
Air quality, Tourist destinations, Sikkim, Water qualityAbstract
The relationship between the growth of tourism and its effects on the environment is complicated. While tourism boosts a region's economy and provides natural and cultural experiences for visitors, the increasing number of tourists necessitates the development of tourism infrastructure which includes accommodation, transportation, recreational facilities, and waste management systems. To analyse the influence of tourism on air and water quality, 22 popular tourist destinations including 11 tourist hotspots and 11 ecotourism zones were selected. To test the air quality, Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM 2.5), Particulate Matter 10 (PM 10), and Carbon monoxide (CO) with help of AIRTH air quality monitor using the Air Quality Index (AQI) as per Shukla et al (2010) was calculated. The twenty-two surface water samples were collected to test the physicochemical parameters i.e., pH, Turbidity, Total Alkalinity (Calcium Carbonate), Total Arsenic (As), Total Hardness (CaCO3), Chloride (Cl), Iron (Fe), Nitrate (NO₃⁻), Sulphate (SO4), and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) of water quality in Government Laboratory (Jal Jevan Mission) during peak and off-peak seasons in 22 popular tourist destinations in Sikkim. Further, the Water Quality Index was determined using the Weighted Arithmetic Index method developed by Brown et al. (1972). The assessment of AQI and WQI reveals that twenty-one tourist destinations show ‘good’ AQI except Gangtok and WQI across all the tourist destinations shows excellent.
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