Noida: The air quality of Noida, in the poor category for the third consecutive day on Tuesday, deteriorated further from Monday as the wind speed dropped.
According to weather analysts, there are chances of rain on Wednesday which, if good enough, will wash away the pollutants from the region, improving the air quality considerably. The wind speed will, however, be moderate and help with the dispersion of pollutants towards Wednesday, analysts said.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the air quality index (AQI) of Noida on Tuesday, on a scale of 0 to 500, was 259 against 236 a day earlier, both considered ‘poor’ (between 201 and 300). The AQI of Greater Noida was 268 against 234 a day earlier, both in the ‘poor’ category.
“The wind speed dropped a bit on Tuesday to 7 to 8kmph towards the afternoon owing to change in direction— from the earlier easterly and south-easterly to south-easterly. The winds are cleaner as they don’t bring along smoke from stubble burning from Punjab and Haryana, but owing to their low speed, the pollutants remained trapped,” Mahesh Palawat, director private weather forecasting agency, Skymet, said.
According to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar), AQI is likely to improve marginally on Wednesday and remain in the moderate (101 -200) category.
“There is a possibility of scattered rainfall on Wednesday and Thursday which may further improve the AQI if sufficient rain is received,” a Safar forecast said. It added that a marginal deterioration in air quality is forecast for November 28.
{{/usCountry}}“There is a possibility of scattered rainfall on Wednesday and Thursday which may further improve the AQI if sufficient rain is received,” a Safar forecast said. It added that a marginal deterioration in air quality is forecast for November 28.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, a man was arrested for burning scrap in Sector 20, Noida, officials said. The man, Qasim, a scrap dealer, had burnt the scrap opposite Sector 14A in order to dispose of it, officials said.
“A police control room van reached the spot near Shani Mandir in Sector 14A after observing smoke from the area. Upon reaching there, Qasim was seen piling up discarded items and garbage and setting it on fire. The man has been arrested under Section 15 of the Environment Protection Act,” a release from the district administration said.