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Four UP cities top pollution chart
Lucknow’s air quality ‘very poor’ again
Lucknow’s air quality ‘very poor’ again
LUCKNOW Lucknow’s air quality is on the decline and became ‘very poor’ again on Thursday. This happened after a brief period of fairly clean air in the last few days.
The top four cities with worst air quality on Thursday were all from Uttar Pradesh. With AQI of 432, Ghaziabad was the most polluted city in the country, followed by Greater Noida (AQI 417), Noida (AQI 414) and Bulandshahr (AQI 404).
The average air quality index (AQI) of Lucknow, recorded by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), was 329.
AQI between 300 and 400 is considered ‘very poor’, which could adversely affect health of people on exposure.
Talkatora was found to be the most polluted area in the city, followed by Hazratganj. PM 2.5 constituted the biggest pollutant in the city.
On Wednesday, Lucknow’s AQI was recorded at 298, which is considered poor. It was 255 and 237 on Tuesday and Monday respectively. This is when the pollution level is being monitored closely by the state pollution control board and the office of chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh.
Experts of state pollution control board said that vehicular, industrial emissions and dust particles in Lucknow contributed to rising pollution. The dip in temperature also added to the problem as the air became dense.
The state capital has been a reeling under ‘very poor’ air quality post Diwali. The cleanest air in this duration was recorded on November 30 when the AQI was 182.
“The pollution control board is taking measures to curb air pollution. We have put a ban on construction activities on a large-scale. The emissions from industries are also being checked,” said Ram Karan, regional officer, UPPCB, Lucknow.
“A combination of factors lead to bad air quality and many of these are not in our control. There is a need to make combined efforts to tackle the problem,” he added.
