Ghaziabad: UPPCB identifies 9 pollution hotspots for winters

These locations experience excessive industrial emission, traffic congestion, road dust, open storage of construction material, illegal industrial units in non-conforming zones and unpaved roads, said officials.

Ghaziabad: The Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) has identified nine pollution hotspots prone to excessive emissions and dust for the 2026-27 winter season, officials said.

According to UPPCB data, Ghaziabad’s annual average air quality index (AQI) saw a 42-point decline over five years — from 227 in 2021 to 185 in 2025. (HT archive)

The hotspots include Sahibabad, Raj Nagar Extension, Loni, Bhopra-Delhi Border, Siddharth Vihar/Kanawani Pushta Road, Vijay Nagar and South Side GT Road, Lal Kuan, Indirapuram, and Vasundhara/Vaishali, officials added.

Ankit Kumar, regional officer of UPPCB (Ghaziabad), told HT: “Last year, seven hotspots were identified, while Indirapuram and Vasundhara/Vaishali were added this year. The newly added hotspots suffer from dust pollution due to construction activities. At these nine identified locations, pollution-curbing measures, such as anti-smog machines and water-sprinkling, will be intensified.”

According to officials, these nine locations experience excessive industrial emission, traffic congestion, road dust, open storage of construction material, illegal industrial units in non-conforming zones, and unpaved roads, among others.

“Pollution department teams surveyed and assessed these nine hotspots. There will be strict enforcement and regular monitoring by the UPPCB teams,” Kumar added.

According to UPPCB data, Ghaziabad’s annual average air quality index (AQI) saw a 42-point decline over five years — from 227 in 2021 to 185 in 2025. The average annual AQI stood at 206 in 2022, 181 in 2023, and 177 in 2024.

Sushil Raghav, a city-based environmentalist, said: “Winter season brings elevated levels of air pollution in the form of road dust, industrial emissions, among others. The enforcement drives lack the required enforcement, and pollution remains one of the major concerns for residents throughout the year.”