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Ghaziabad areas battled severe + pollution for 20 of 24 hours
Ghaziabad: Ghaziabad city continued to reel under ‘severe’ air quality, loaded with PM 2.5 pollutants, and recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 496, according
Ghaziabad: Ghaziabad city continued to reel under ‘severe’ air quality, loaded with PM 2.5 pollutants, and recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 496, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), on Friday.
On November 1, the city was the second most polluted city across the country, after neighbouring Noida.
The city’s three monitoring stations in Indirapuram, Sanjay Nagar and Vasundhara breached the 500 AQI mark to touch ‘severe +’ category for 20 of 24 hours, from 4pm on October 31 to 4pm on November 1. The monitoring station in Loni also peaked to 500 during the same period for 19 hours.
The Ghaziabad city, from October 27 to November 1, has topped the list of most polluted cities across the country on four days, including the three consecutive days of October 29, 30 and 31. The AQI value for the city was 482 on October 31.
In the wake of rising pollution, the CPCB’s task force Friday gave directions for a ban of coal-based industrial units in NCR till November 5. The task force also directed the halt of construction activities, and closure of hot mix plants and stone crushers and brick kilns till November 5. The panel also advised people to remain indoors and schools to avoid outdoor activities for children. The city has 141 coal based industrial units and 17 ready mix plants which will remain closed till November 5.
Scientists of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the present conditions are likely to prevail till November 4. They added that four parameters — temperature, rainfall, wind direction and wind speed — influenced the pollution indices and the wind could pick up speed to 15-20kmph from November 4, thereby driving away pollutants.
“There is no forecast of rain in Delhi-NCR for the near future and temperature is also on the lower side. Had the temperature been over 35 degrees Celsius, the present pollution layer, which is hovering about 1-1.5km above ground, would have gone up to 3-4km above ground and the effect may not have been so bad,” Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, New Delhi, said.
“Most effect is mainly due to stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana and the north-westerly winds carry the dust and smoke to Delhi-NCR. There is a possibility of a western disturbance along with light rain in Punjab and Haryana on November 2 which could lower the effect of stubble burning. The wind pattern, its speed, etc., have more or less remained the same but the sources of pollution in Delhi-NCR such as construction activities, vehicles, industrial activities have increased over the past 5-10 years,” he said.
During the task force meeting on November 1, the CPCB was informed that stubble burning contribution to pollution to Delhi-NCR pollution has gone up to 45%, which is resulting in the current high particulate matter concentration.
The satellites picked up at least 2,200 instances of fires in Punjab and Haryana on Monday. On Tuesday, the IMD said the figure stood at 1,602 just for Punjab, the most recorded on a single day this season.
“The rise in pollution is the result of a number of factors, including stubble burning. At the local level, we are taking up different measures such as water sprinkling and sweeping of roads to control dust, besides strict enforcement of anti-pollution norms,” Utsav Sharma, regional officer of the UP pollution control board, said.
