Noida and G Noida back to ‘moderate’ category AQI after spell of rain

Environment experts attributed the rainfall in Northwest region as the reason for improvement in the air quality levels and active western disturbance

The air pollution levels came down in both Noida and Greater Noida, giving some respite from the toxic air-quality that was persistent in the cities for over a fortnight. On Tuesday (October 17), the Air Quality Index of Noida was recorded as 80, slipping to ‘green’ zone which is termed as ‘satisfactory’ while on Wednesday, the AQI was recorded as 129 (moderate).

The environment expert said that though the change is good and efforts have paid off, it would not last for a long time and the changes are temporary. (HT Photo)

The Greater Noida’s AQI too saw a significant decline and was recorded 108, in ‘yellow’ zone, termed as ‘moderate’ on Tuesday while on Wednesday, it was recorded as 156 (moderate). The city had been grappling under ‘poor’ AQI of over 200 for a long time while Noida had been witnessing moderate AQI, which had deteriorated to ‘poor’ on October 16 (Monday), going beyond 200.

According to the 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 500 are “severe”.

Environment experts attributed the rainfall in Northwest region as the reason for improvement in the air quality levels and active western disturbance, which has helped clear the air and leading to a fall in temperatures.

Environmentalist, Vikrant Tongad said, “The rainfall in Northwest region has led to a significant change in the air pollution levels in both Noida and Greater Noida. Besides, enforcement of ‘Grap’ also seems to have resulted in a positive change as authorities concerning are active and ensuring that the guidelines are being followed. Several enforcement exercises are being conducted in the region to check on construction, demolition activities and other initiatives including intensifying of water sprinkling exercise, checking on vehicular pollution, etc, that fall under Grap stage 1, are creating an impact”.

The environment expert further said that though the change is good and efforts have paid off, it would not last for a long time and the changes are temporary.

“The AQI has improved due to rainfall, however, it would not prevail as the weather conditions will change and temperatures will further fall. Besides, festival of Diwali is also round the corner. This will again lead to increase in AQI level as air-pollutants, once the winter sets in, get trapped in cool air and remain closer to the ground, resulting in formation of toxic smog blanket, aggravating air pollution”, Vikrant Tongad added.

According to the information from Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the maximum temperature of Gautam Budh Nagar was recorded as 17.1 degrees Celsius and the maximum temperature was recorded as 31.0 degrees Celsius.

The IMD has predicted continued drop in minimum temperature, which is expected to remain around 18 degrees Celsius till October 24 while the maximum temperature is expected to hover around 32.0 degrees Celsius.

Locals were relived on Wednesday, knowing that the city’s AQI showed an improvement in two days. Bhupender Chaudhary, a resident of Sector 62 in Noida said, “There was a clear sky today morning and it was evident that some changes in pollution levels have occurred. We hope that the situation prevails in the days to come and enforcement activities against air pollution intensifies”.

On Monday, Noida’s AQI had plunged to ‘poor’ category from ‘moderate’ that was being recorded over the past two weeks and was recorded as 204. Whereas, Greater Noida, which has been grappling with ‘poor’ AQI levels, was recorded as 257 on Monday. The highest AQI of Greater Nolida this season was 292. On Monday, the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (Safar-India) had stated that PM 2.5 concentration in Noida on the day was 5.2 times above the recommended limit given by the WHO 24-hour guidelines value.

The regional pollution board has been launching enforcement activities to crackdown on people violating the Grap guidelines in the city and indulging in activities leading to air pollution. Regional officer, Noida PVVNL Utsav Sharma said, “We have been launching crackdowns against establishments for flouting Grap stage 1 guidelines in parts of Noida and imposing penalties on violators. We will be intensifying action as per the guidelines in the future to curb air pollution”.

The Noida pollution board had initiated action against 10 establishments for flouting Grap stage 1 guidelines in Greater Nolida and fine of ₹50,000 each was imposed. Subsequently, a hefty penalty of ₹29.40 lakh was levied on 25 establishments in Noida region for the same violation.