Winds keep Noida air quality ‘moderate’, temperature soars

According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CBCB) daily bulletin of 4pm, the air quality index (AQI) in Noida stood at 122 on Friday

Noida’s air quality improved on Wednesday but remained in the ‘moderate’ category due to windy conditions which are likely to persist for the next few days, according to data by the Central Pollution Control Board.

The predominant surface wind is likely to be calm in the morning hours and will be coming from the northwest in Delhi-NCR with a wind speed 20-25kmph and mainly clear skies are expected. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CBCB) daily bulletin of 4pm, the air quality index (AQI) in Noida stood at 122 on Friday, 150 on Thursday and 117 on Wednesday — all in the ‘moderate’ category. Similarly, in Greater Noida, the AQI was 150 on Friday, 180 on Thursday and 126 on Wednesday.

CPCB classifies an AQI between 0-50 as ‘good’, between 51 and 100 as ‘satisfactory’, between 101 and 200 as ‘moderate’, between 201 and 300 as ‘poor’, between 301 and 400 as ‘very poor’ and over 400 as ‘severe’.

Officials say that the improved air quality can be attributed to better wind conditions in the region.

“Good windy conditions have improved the AQI across NCR and the pollution level will remain low as long as there is wind to blow away the pollutants. The local sources of pollution across Noida is already limited and strict action is taken in case of violations,” said Praveen Kumar, regional officer, Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, Noida.

According to CPCB forecasts, the AQI is likely to remain in the same range for the next few days as well.

“The predominant pollutant is likely to be PM10 as dust component will increase due to strong winds. The outlook for subsequent six days is that the air quality is likely to remain largely in ‘moderate’ to ‘poor’ category,” stated the CPCB forecast.

The predominant surface wind is likely to be calm in the morning hours and will be coming from the northwest in Delhi-NCR with a wind speed 20-25kmph and mainly clear skies are expected. Additionally, strong surface winds of speed 20-30kmph and gusty winds of speed 40kmph can be expected occasionally during the day for the next three days on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Meanwhile, the minimum temperature in Noida was around 9.9 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature was 28.4 degrees Celsius, six degrees above than usual for this time of the year, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The IMD forecast also predicts strong surface winds and occasional gusty winds till February 13.

Despite windy conditions, IMD has predicted that the maximum temperature during the day is expected to reach around 29-30 degrees Celsius over the next week, which is higher than normal for this time of the year.