Noida set to get warmer as mercury spikes

Noida: The city will witness warmer days ahead with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting mercury to rise by four degrees Celsius (°C) in the next three days

Noida: The city will witness warmer days ahead with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting mercury to rise by four degrees Celsius (°C) in the next three days.

HT Image

“The mercury is set to rise and reach around 35°C in the next three to four days. Since the region will see cloudy sky over the next few days, there will not be a sudden spike in the daytime mercury, rather the rise will be gradual. The wind speed will be moderate and hover around 12 km per hour for next two days,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre, IMD.

As per IMD, the minimum and maximum temperatures for Noida on Monday were recorded at 19°C and 31.5°C, respectively against 18.1°C and 30.9°C a day earlier. The average maximum and minimum temperatures recorded at Safdarjung observatory, considered average for the region, were 32°C, three degrees higher than the season’s average and 16.2°C, a degree higher than the season’s average.

Meanwhile, the air quality of Noida, Ghaziabad and Greater Noida deteriorated on Monday. While Noida’s air quality slipped within ‘moderate’ levels, Ghaziabad and Greater Noida slipped from ‘moderate’ to ‘poor’ category, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The air quality index (AQI) of Noida on Monday was 182 against 174 a day earlier. The AQI of Greater Noida was 208 against 182 a day earlier, while Ghaziabad recorded an AQI of 224 against 195 on Sunday.

An AQI level up to 100 is considered ‘good’, between 101 and 200 is ‘moderate’, between 201 and 300 is ‘poor’, between 301 and 400 is ‘very poor’ and above 400 is considered ‘severe’.

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the air quality will deteriorate due to dust raising winds in the next two days. “Surface winds are high and west south-westerly. AQI is likely to stay in the moderate to lower end of poor category for next two days. An increase in dust contribution is expected in the coming days. The poor AQI is forecasted for March 18,” said a SAFAR statement on Monday.