Air quality improves in Noida, Ghaziabad after a span of 10 days

According to the air quality index bulletin of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) , the air quality fell from the ‘severe’ to the ‘very poor’ category on Sunday with Ghaziabad recording an AQI of 331

The air quality for all the three cities significantly improved on Sunday for the first time in the last 10 days since November 5, a day after Diwali from when pollution levels started spiking and the air quality began deteriorating.

Low visibility on the Delhi Meerut Expressway at Mehrauli in Ghaziabad. (Sakib Ali/HT photo)

According to the air quality index (AQI) bulletin of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) , the air quality fell from the ‘severe’ to the ‘very poor’ category on Sunday with Ghaziabad recording an AQI of 331,Greater Noida 310 and Noida 321. The figures indicate that Sunday was the least polluted day for all the three cities since November 4, the day Diwali was celebrated.

An AQI reading between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”.

The improvement in the air quality on Sunday was a source of relief for Ghaziabad, which has been reeling under the ‘severe’ category for 10 straight days since Diwali. Noida too suffered from ‘severe’ air quality for nine days from November 4 to 13, except on November 10. The air quality in Greater Noida hovered between the upper end of the ‘very poor’ category and the lower end of the ‘severe’ category during this period.

According to the CPCB data, the air quality started worsening from November 5 with Noida being the most polluted city in the country on that day with an AQI of 475. The AQI in Ghaziabad stood at 470 while in Greater Noida, it was 464.

The three cities witnessed the worst air quality on November 12 with Noida recording an AQI of 488,Ghaziabad 486 and Greater Noida 478.

On Sunday, despite the pollution levels being low, all the four air quality monitoring stations in Ghaziabad and two in Greater Noida recorded PM2.5 as the primary pollutant while the four stations in Noida had both PM10 and PM2.5 as the primary pollutants.

According to the figures of the System of air quality and weather forecasting and research (Safar), the share of stubble burning in PM2.5, which peaked to 48% on November 7, drastically dropped to 12% on Sunday.

“The AQI today (Sunday) indicates ‘very poor’ category and is likely to improve for the next two days as winds at transport level are slowing down, resulting in lesser intrusion of farm fires related pollutants into Delhi. However, calm local winds reduce dispersion of pollutants. Net effect is likely to make air quality remain (in the) ‘very poor’ category,” said the Safar forecast.

Officials of the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board said they are closely monitoring the situation.

“The improvement in air quality started since Saturday night. The layers of air above the ground level are slow, resulting in lesser influx of pollutants. We will keep tracking the meteorological conditions in the coming days. The directions given by the sub-committee of the Commission for Air Quality Management have been forwarded to the different departments,” said Utsav Sharma, regional officer of UPPCB.

The committee, during its meeting on November 13, observed that PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations have come down below the standard limits. According to CPCB data, the PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations breeched the standard limits on two days since Diwali--November 5 and 12.

In view of the prevailing situation, the committee has now directed the states and agencies to be ready to implement ‘emergency measures’ listed under the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap).

It asked agencies to ensure uninterrupted power supply to discourage the use of generator sets, stopping the use of diesel generator sets (except for emergency purposes), increasing the parking fee,stopping the of use of coal/firewood in hotels and open eateries and stringently enforce/stop garbage burning in landfills and other places among other measures.

Residents said that given the prevailing conditions, they are taking extra precautions and staying indoors as much as possible.

“The impact of pollution can be felt even inside our homes. I am running three air purifiers at home and have stopped stepping outside. There is considerable difference in breathing, when I move to the other rooms which do not have air purifiers,” said V K Mittal, president of Kaushambi Apartments RWA.

Environmentalists said they were expecting better air quality this year due to the restriction on firecrackers. “The situation turned out to be worse as both Noida and Ghaziabad continued to be in ‘severe’ zone for days together since Diwali. The measures to control local sources of pollution lacks sting,” said Akash Vashishtha, an environmentalist from Ghaziabad.

According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ air quality early warning system for Delhi, the air quality is likely to deteriorate but remain in the ‘very poor’ category on November 15 and 16.

“The outlook for subsequent five days: The air quality is likely to remain in upper end of ‘very poor’ category. PM2.5 to be the predominant pollutant,” said the forecast.

It also predicted a shallow to moderate fog in the morning of November 16 due to predominant surface winds that are likely to come from the northwest direction of Delhi at a speed of 4-8 kmph.