India's white marvel, the Taj Mahal, is slowly turning brownish-yellow because of air pollution.
study also identifies the pollutants responsible for the effect.
It says Taj is changing colour due to deposition of dust and carbon-containing particles emitted in the burning of fossil fuels, biomass and garbage. The study confirms what has been suspected for long — that Agra's poor air quality is impacting India's most celebrated monument.
The pollutants deposited on the marble were identified through these investigations
Researchers found 3% of the deposits to be black carbon, around 30% organic carbon (or brown carbon) and most of the rest dust. Black carbon is emitted by vehicles and other machines that burn fossil fuels. Brown carbon is typically released through burning of biomass and garbage