Noida’s air improves, Ghaziabad still the most polluted in the country

The air quality in Noida showed some improvement on Wednesday for the first time since Diwali

The air quality in Noida showed some improvement on Wednesday for the first time since Diwali. With an air quality index (AQI) reading of 378, the city’s air was in the ‘very poor’ category. On the other hand, Ghaziabad again topped the list of most polluted cities in the country as with an AQI of 428, its pollution levels continued to be in the ‘severe’ category.

Ghaziabad, India - November 08, 2021: A view of a farm land engulfed in smog at Kusalia in Ghaziabad on Monday, November 8, 2021. (Photo by Sakib Ali/Hindustan Times)

According to the AQI bulletin of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Greater Noida too had ‘very poor’ air on Wednesday with an AQI of 374.

An AQI reading between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.

Noida reeled under “severe” pollution levels for six days at a stretch since November 4--the day Diwali was celebrated. Official statistics of the UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) indicate that it is for the first time since 2018 that Noida suffered “severe” pollution levels for six days at a stretch.

Last year, the city suffered from “severe” pollution levels for six consecutive days from November 5 to November 10.

“The ‘very poor’ AQI of Noida is the result of less traffic on roads; there were hardly any traffic congestion on the day of Chathh Puja. Moreover, the impact of firecrackers burst during Diwali has considerably died down. It is likely that once the wind speed increases, more pollutants will be dispersed,” said Utsav Sharma, regional officer of UPPCB.

According to official statistics, Ghaziabad city reeled under “severe” pollution levels for eight consecutive days from November 9 to 16 in 2017.

“There is huge traffic volume in Ghaziabad due to Chhath Puja. The two air quality monitoring stations at Loni and Sanjay Nagar continued to record the higher ends in the ‘severe’ category. We have asked the authorities in Loni to increase the frequency of water sprinkling as there is high volume of dust on roads. The Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation has also told us that they will be procuring more mechanical road sweeping machines and these will be deployed at Sanjay Nagar and at Delhi Meerut Road,” Sharma added.

The Delhi Meerut Road is estimated to have a volume of 1.2 lakh passenger car units per day. Work on the Regional Rapid Transit System on the median of the road is also going on in full swing. This has led to an increase in traffic congestion, which increase the amount of PM2.5 in the air.

As per the CPCB AQI bulletin, all the monitoring stations in Ghaziabad, Greater Noida and Noida were running high on PM2.5 and it also stood as the primary pollutant on Wednesday.

“Air quality is expected to deteriorate for the next two days but will remain either at the upper end of the ‘very poor’ category or touch the lower end of ‘severe’ category. Calm local surface winds may cause stagnation, which weakens dispersion of pollutants. Today’s share of crop residue burning is 27% in PM2.5 and effective fire count is 5,317. Air quality is likely to improve on November 13,” said the forecast by the System of air quality and weather forecasting and research (Safar) on Wednesday.

Environmentalists blame the agencies for lack of ground level action.

“Their claims of abetting pollution through various action plans have fallen flat. The ‘severe’ AQI for seven days calls for some introspection by agencies in Ghaziabad. They are yet to procure the required equipment to tackle pollution. This indicates the seriousness with which agencies are dealing with pollution,” said Akash Vashishtha, a city-based environmentalist.