Air quality to improve in Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad after over a fortnight

Air quality index still ‘very poor’ in Ghaziabad, Greater Noida and Noida, but weather officials said strong winds are likely to arrive by November 21, which will help disperse the pollutants

The air quality index in the three cities of Ghaziabad, Greater Noida and Noida remained in the ‘very poor’ category on Saturday, but on the basis of forecast, officials said that the conditions are likely to improve as strong winds may arrive by November 21, said officials.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Ghaziabad, Greater Noida and Noida recorded the air quality index (AQI) at 344, 322 and 356 on Saturday. (Sunil GhoshHT)

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Ghaziabad, Greater Noida and Noida recorded the air quality index (AQI) on Saturday at 344, 322 and 356.

“Forecasts indicate that the wind speed will pick up from November 21, which will help in speedy disposal of trapped pollutants. This will improve the AQI. As of now, the daytime AQI of monitoring stations is better than the night timings when the wind speed slows down further,” said Utsav Sharma, regional officer of Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPCPCB).

An AQI reading between 101 and 200 is considered ‘moderate’, between 201 and 300 ‘poor’, between 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and above 400 ‘severe’.

According to the forecast by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar), the situation is likely to improve as the percentage share of stubble burning incidents have reduced considerably and the north-westerly winds, resulting in the slowing down of the impact.

“From November 21 to 23, surface winds are likely to be strong, resulting in effective dispersion which improves air quality. Transport level winds coming from northwest direction are likely to be strong from November 21 to 23, flushing out locally emitted pollutants from Delhi to the southeast region that is expected to improve the air quality further to the lower end of the ‘very poor’ or ‘poor’ category in Delhi. The contribution of farm fires (752) to Delhi’s PM2.5 is negligible,” the Safar forecast added.

The three cities have been experiencing ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ pollution conditions since October 31.