Noida gets respite from cold wave; air quality improves

Noida: Facing cold wave and extreme winter conditions for the past three days, Noida saw a slight respite on Saturday as the minimum temperature went up by over a degree

Noida: Facing cold wave and extreme winter conditions for the past three days, Noida saw a slight respite on Saturday as the minimum temperature went up by over a degree. Also, the air quality of the city on Saturday improved to ‘very poor’ again. The air quality of Noida and its neighbouring cities had turned ‘severe’ on Friday after having remained within the ‘very poor’ category for the past two weeks.

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However, the cold wave-like conditions in the region will prevail till February 2 with foggy morning. According to weather analysts, cold wave-like conditions will return on January 31, along with dense fog, in the western Uttar Pradesh that includes Noida, Ghaziabad and Greater Noida. However, due to another western disturbance, the wind directions are set to change from February 3 onwards, leading to possibilities of thunderstorm, light rains and rise in mercury, they said.

“Friday was comparatively warmer due to better sunshine. However, the mercury may fall by a degree on Sunday and Monday, leading to cold wave-like conditions again. The mercury will significantly rise around February 3 and 4 due to change in the wind directions from icy cold north-westerly to warmer south-westerly,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice-president (meteorology and climate change) at Skymet, a private weather forecaster.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the minimum temperature for Noida on Saturday was recorded at 7.6 degrees Celsius against 6.3 degrees a day earlier. The maximum temperature for the city was recorded at 20.9 degrees Celsius against 20.1 degrees a day earlier. The average minimum and maximum for NCR, based on Safdarjung observatory, was 5.4 degrees Celsius and 21.5 degrees Celsius, respectively.

“The minimum may hover around 4 to 5 degrees Celsius on Sunday, along with moderate to dense fog in the morning hours,” said an IMD official.

For a cold day, the maximum temperature should be either below 15 degrees Celsius or it should be 4.5 degrees Celsius below the season’ average. For cold wave, either the minimum temperature should be below 4 degrees Celsius, or it should be below 4.5 degrees of the season’s average.

Meanwhile, the air quality of Noida and adjoining areas saw a remarkable improvement as the ventilation improved. However, the air quality index (AQI) of the three cities -- Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad -- are still under ‘very poor’ category. The three cities have been suffering ‘very poor’ or ‘severe’ levels of AQI since January 13, while the best air quality last realised was under ‘moderate’ category on January 4 this year.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), AQI of Noida on Satuday was 302 against Friday’s 423. Greater Noida’s AQI was 308 against 420 a day earlier, while Ghaziabad witnessed an AQI of 338 against 415 on Friday.

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

“The wind speed was better on Saturday reaching up to 20 kmph in certain areas, which helped with dispersion of the particle pollutants. The wind speed will be good for the next few days until February 2 when the wind directions change,” said Palawat of Skymet.

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the air quality may improve due to winds. “High winds are forecasted to continue for the next 24 hours. Due to the better ventilation index, AQI is likely to improve further to the lower end of very poor to poor. AQI is likely to marginally deteriorate on 1st and 2nd February but within the very poor category,” said a SAFAR statement on Saturday.