A rainy reprieve: Noida breathes clean air; minimum reaches 18.9°C

Noida/Ghaziabad: Overnight rain brought significant relief from air pollution in Gautam Budh Nagar on Friday, with the air quality index (AQI) in both Noida and Greater Noida dropping to the “satisfactory” category from “poor” a day earlier

Noida/Ghaziabad: Overnight rain brought significant relief from air pollution in Gautam Budh Nagar on Friday, with the air quality index (AQI) in both Noida and Greater Noida dropping to the “satisfactory” category from “poor” a day earlier. The showers also brought down the temperature, with further reduction expected over the weekend.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded 39mm of rainfall in Gautam Budh Nagar up to 8.30 am on Friday. (Sunil Ghosh /HT PHOTO)

According to an official bulletin, at 2pm Noida recorded an AQI of 53, and Greater Noida registered 52, both in the “satisfactory” category. This comes as a relief after days of “poor” and “moderate” AQI.

Noida’s AQI stood at 164 (moderate) on October 27, rose to 246 (poor) on October 28, and dipped slightly to 222 (poor) on October 29. Greater Noida recorded an AQI of 82 (satisfactory) on October 27, followed by 220 (poor) on October 28 and 214 (poor) on October 29.

According to the CPCB’s classification, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered “good”, 51-100 “satisfactory”, 101-200 “moderate”, 201-300 “poor”, 301-400 “very poor” and 401-500 “severe”.

Weather experts said the sharp improvement in air quality was due to the washing out of suspended pollutants and improved atmospheric conditions.

In Greater Noida, the Knowledge Park III station recorded an AQI of 52, with only one of the two listed monitoring stations active, according to data updated on Friday afternoon.

In neighbouring Ghaziabad, the AQI also improved to the satisfactory category, recording 55 around 2 pm on Friday, compared to 140 (moderate) on October 27, 210 (poor) on October 28 and 147 (moderate) on October 29. Of the eight listed monitoring stations, seven were active, with readings ranging from 24 (good) at Sanjay Nagar to 104 (moderate) at Wave City.

Overnight rain

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded 39mm of rainfall in Gautam Budh Nagar up to 8.30 am on Friday.

According to the weather department’s observations, the maximum temperature recorded at 5.30 pm on Thursday was 26.9°C, while the minimum temperature recorded at 8.30 am on Friday was 18.9°C.

Weather experts attributed the change in weather across Delhi-NCR to the interaction of Cyclone Arnab with a western disturbance.

“The change in weather is due to the interaction of Cyclone Arnab with a western disturbance. The skies will clear up from Saturday. However, while the day temperature will rise, the minimum temperature will show a dip,” Mahesh Palawat, vice-president of meteorology and climate change at Skymet Weather, said.

He said the rain activity would gradually weaken, with dry weather expected to set in from Saturday.

The IMD’s forecast for Gautam Budh Nagar shows improved weather conditions with partly cloudy skies and temperatures between 17°C and 30°C on Saturday,

From Sunday onwards, the forecast is clear skies, with maximum temperatures reaching 31°C.

Civic mess

However, the improvement in air quality also coincided with inconvenience caused by water accumulation on a few roads. “While the rain has brought much-needed relief from the pollution, the waterlogging has made commuting difficult. Vehicles are struggling to pass through the stretch, and pedestrians are having an equally difficult time navigating the road,” said Vivek Gupta, a Sector 45 resident.

“Even a short spell of rain makes the road extremely muddy. People somehow manage, but schoolchildren have to walk through this stretch every day. It becomes particularly difficult for them when it rains,” said another resident, Ankit Singh, complaining about the situation near FNG Road in Garhi Chaukhandi, Sector 121.