Several U.P. cities record ‘poor’ to ‘very poor’ AQI third day in a row

As many as nine cities of Uttar Pradesh recorded poor air quality index (AQI)levels according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) daily bulletin released on Sunday

As many as nine cities of Uttar Pradesh recorded poor air quality index (AQI)levels according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) daily bulletin released on Sunday. The trend has been going on since last three days with as many as 11 cities recording ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ AQI levels on Saturday (December 10) and eight cities on Friday (December 9).

Lucknow’s air quality remained poor for continuously last three days with highest being recorded on Saturday at 246, followed by 239 on Sunday and 223 on Friday. (Deepak Gupta/ht)

On Sunday, 9 cities recorded poor AQI with Muzaffarnagar being the highest at 278 followed by Ghaziabad (270), Noida (268), Khurja (249), Lucknow (239), Baghpat (236), Bulandshahr (234), Jhansi (217), and Kanpur (213).

While 9 cities recorded bad air quality on Sunday, 11 cities were on the list on Saturday which included 7 cities recording poor AQI, 3 ‘very poor’ and one city (Greater Noida) recorded ‘severe’ with AQI of 422.

Eight cities recorded poor AQI on Friday as well.

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”.

Meanwhile, Lucknow’s air quality remained poor for continuously last three days with highest being recorded on Saturday at 246, followed by 239 on Sunday and 223 on Friday only after recording moderate with AQI of 179.

In Lucknow, the pollution control board has installed five monitoring stations according to which Lalbagh remained on top of the highly polluted area with 337 AQI followed by Talkatora at 313, and Central University area at 238 while Kukrail Picnic spot and Gomti Nagar fared better with 174 and 176 AQI levels.

According to Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), the air quality has deteriorated due to the decrease in temperature. “During winters, due to the low temperature, the dust particles remain suspended in the lower surface of the atmosphere as they gain weight due to moisture in the air, and hence, they get captured in the AQI device,” said UC Shukla, regional officer, UPPCB.