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Noida, Gzb share country’s worst air
Noida: Noida and Ghaziabad turned out to be the most polluted cities in the country on Thursday with the air quality in these cities continuing its downward slide
Noida: Noida and Ghaziabad turned out to be the most polluted cities in the country on Thursday with the air quality in these cities continuing its downward slide for the third day in a row, to enter the hazardous ‘severe +’ category.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Noida’s air quality index (AQI), on a scale of 0 to 500, was 486, the highest in the country against 470 a day earlier. The AQI of Ghaziabad was also 486 against 467 a day earlier.
The PM2.5 or particles with diameter less than 2.5microns on Thursday were also high, at an average of 422.3μg/m3, which is seven times higher than the national standard of 60μg/m3 and 16 times higher than the international standards set by World Health Organisation (WHO) of 25 Ug/m3.
The air quality of Noida showed some sign of improvement on November 5 after being ‘severe’ since October 28.
According to pollution monitoring agencies, the air quality is likely to improve a little, however, it will remain in the ‘severe’ category on Friday as well, before improving slightly by Sunday (November 17) after the wind speed increases.
The current pollution is being attributed to meteorological and man-made conditions— the cooler north-westerly winds coming from Punjab and Haryana, where stubble burning continues, are trapping pollutants in Delhi-NCR. The wind speed is currently too low to flush out the pollutants— on Thursday, it ranging from 2-10 kmph, officials said.
According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the wind speed Friday is likely to be about 4kmph in the morning hours and will reach 8kmph later in the day. As this speed is not enough, the air quality will remain ‘severe’ even though the stubble burning incidents have dropped in neighbouring states.
However, wind speed will increase to 16-20 kmph from around 11.30am Saturday, thereby cleaning the air of pollutants. Sunday’s wind speed will increase to about 20-25 kmph, says the IMD forecast, indicating a marked improvement in the air quality.
“Given the current pollution situation, the region needs strong winds of at least 20kmph for 20 to 24 hours to flush out pollutants,” Shambhavi Shukla, programme officer, clean air, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said.
According to weather analysts, the air will be cleaner enough outdoor activities only after Sunday.
“The wind speed Thursday was too low to clear pollutants from the region and the wind speed on Friday will also remain low. That means there will be no significant improvement in air quality. There will be some improvement on November 16 after the wind speed starts increasing,” Mahesh Palawat, director private weather forecast agency, Skymet, said.
