E-Paper
Most U.P. cities record good air quality
Most western UP districts that recorded poor to very poor AQI so far, for the first time in the current year recorded AQI of less than 100. Moradabad and Firozabad’s air remained under best air category in the state .
LUCKNOW: Air in at least three districts of Uttar Pradesh remained better than that in hill stations like Srinagar, Rajgir, Kohima and Ooty as per the 4pm Air Quality Index bulletin released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on Tuesday.
Moradabad and Firozabad both recorded AQI of 47, lesser than hill cities such as Srinagar (55), Kohima (55), Ooty (48) and Rajgir (82). Agra recorded an AQI of 51, less than all above-mentioned hill stations except Ooty.
Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram district recorded the cleanest air in the country with AQI of 15.
Out of 18 cities where CPCB has its stations installed, 17 recorded satisfactory AQI (under 80), constituting almost 99% cities’ air under ‘good’ and ‘satisfactory’ categories except Vrindavan that recorded an AQI of 114.
The state capital recorded an AQI of 78, better compared to hill station Rajgir (82). However, it was slightly higher than Monday’s AQI (60).
Most western UP districts that recorded poor to very poor AQI so far, for the first time in the current year recorded AQI of less than 100. Moradabad and Firozabad’s air remained under best air category in the state with AQI 47 (good) followed by Jhansi (55), Varanasi (56), Meerut (57), Muzaffarnagar (58), Hapur (59), Baghpat (62), Prayagraj (63), Bulandshahr (65), Kanpur (66), Greater Noida (68), Noida (72), Pratapgarh (73).
An AQI level between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51-100 is ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 is ‘moderate’, 201-300 is ‘poor’, 301-400 is ‘very poor’, and 401-500 is ‘severe’.
“Improvement in air quality is the result of rainfall,” said UC Shukla, regional officer, Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board. “The dust particles in the air settle down due to water, cleaning the air,” he added.
