Air quality still ‘very poor’ in Noida and Ghaziabad
The AQI of Ghaziabad on Wednesday was a deterioration from that on Tuesday (356) while Noida’s AQI saw a mild improvement from Tuesday’s 364
There was no great improvement in the air quality in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad even on Wednesday with the air quality index (AQI) of the three cities continuing to remain in the ”very poor” category for the third consecutive day, post Diwali.
As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)’s daily bulletin, Ghaziabad saw the highest AQI among the three cities on Wednesday, at 378 (with PM2.5 and PM10 being main pollutants), followed by Noida at 360 (with PM2.5 as the prominent pollutant) and Greater Noida at 338 (with PM2.5 as the prominent pollutant).
The AQI of Ghaziabad on Wednesday was a deterioration from that on Tuesday (356) while Noida’s AQI saw a mild improvement from Tuesday’s 364. However, Greater Noida saw some improvement with an AQI of 338 on Wednesday, a climb down from the AQI of 348 on Tuesday.
According to AQI scale, readings between 0 and 50 are considered ”good”, 51 and 100 are ”satisfactory”, 101 and 200 are ”moderate”, 201 and 300 are ”poor”, 301 and 400 are ”very poor”, and 401 and 450 are “severe”and above 450 are “severe+”.
The live air quality index computed by CPCB showed that in Ghaziabad on Wednesday, Indirapuram recorded the highest AQI (372) followed by Loni (368), Vasundhara (365) and Sanjay Nagar (364).
In Noida, Sector 62 recorded the highest AQI at 374 while in Greater Noida, Knowledge Park 3 recorded AQI as 337 while AQI of Knowledge Park 5 was not computed by CPCB for the day.
Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), regional officer, Noida, Utsav Sharma said, “A blanket ban is in force across the city on construction and measures are being taken up in compliance with the graded response action plan (Grap) rules. The current air pollution is primarily the result of fireworks on Diwali. The wind speed has not been very favourable, and, as a result, pollutants are not dispersing properly.”
“However, there is some respite from vehicular emissions as traffic has remained light all these days. This is only temporary as Thursday will mark the end of festivities and people will return to work. The air pollution is likely to deteriorate in the coming days owing to an increase in traffic and unfavourable weather conditions,” Sharma said.
“The situation is likely to remain the same or get worse in the days ahead as the weather conditions are unfavourable and wind is at a low speed. The temperatures are going to dip in the days to come, resulting in accumulation of pollutants for longer in the environment,” said environmental activist Vikrant Tongad.
