Post-Diwali Blues: Fireworks cast a haze as AQI dips from ‘moderate’ to ‘poor’ in Lucknow

Cities including Noida, Greater Noida, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Agra, and Ghaziabad, which had a moderate AQI before Diwali on Saturday, recorded ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ on Monday and Tuesday.

LUCKNOW: Despite the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) in Lucknow city registering a moderate 126 on Sunday, it swiftly reverted to the ‘poor’ category on Monday, a day after Diwali. Monday’s AQI surged to 213, marking an 87-point jump from the day before the festival, and it sustained at 206 on Tuesday, according to Central Pollution Control Board data at 4 pm.

Six monitoring stations across the city reported extreme air pollution on Diwali night, notably between 10 pm and 2 am. (HT Photo)

Six monitoring stations across the city reported extreme air pollution on Diwali night, notably between 10 pm and 2 am. During these hours, PM2.5 and PM10 values at most stations neared or hit the maximum limit of 500, categorizing them under the ‘severe’ category, vividly represented by a dark red graph.

In a bid to monitor pollution levels, six live monitoring stations have been established by pollution control boards, including locations like Talkatora, Lalbagh, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Gomti Nagar, Kukrail, and BR Ambedkar University.

For the unversed, AQI categories are as follows: 0-50 (good), 51-100 (satisfactory), 101-200 (moderate), 201-300 (poor), 301-400 (very poor), and 401-500 (severe).

At Talkatora and Kendriya Vidyalaya stations, both PM2.5 and PM10 values peaked at 500 between 10 pm and 4 am. The green area of Kukrail was not spared, with PM2.5 and PM10 values reaching 500 and 491, respectively, displaying a severe category from 10 pm to 4 am. Gomti Nagar recorded the highest PM2.5 value at 477 around midnight. At BR Ambedkar station, the graph transitioned from yellow (moderate) to orange (poor) around 8 pm, turning red (very poor) around 9-10 pm, and to dark red (severe) at midnight, normalizing only at 5 am.

This trend persisted on Tuesday, with PM2.5 and PM10 values remaining high between 10 pm and 3 am due to firecrackers. Even though the average AQI was lower, Lalbagh recorded 259, Talkatora 247, Gomti Nagar 208, Kukrail 156, Kendriya Vidyalaya 197, and BR Ambedkar University 170.

Western U.P. Districts More Affected:

All western U.P. districts, which had seen some improvement in AQI due to a sudden spell, returned to recording ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ AQI categories.

Cities including Noida, Greater Noida, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Agra, and Ghaziabad, which had a moderate AQI before Diwali on Saturday, recorded ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ on Monday and Tuesday.

AQI Comparison Pre and Post-Diwali in Districts of Uttar Pradesh

November 12:

Greater Noida 165

Noida 189

Kanpur 123

Lucknow 126

Meerut 238

Muzaffarnagar 159

Prayagraj 137

Varanasi 108

Agra 73

Ghaziabad 186

Post Diwali (November 13):

Greater Noida 342

Noida 363

Kanpur 228

Lucknow 213

Meerut 362

Muzaffarnagar 279

Prayagraj 253

Varanasi 192

Agra 158

Ghaziabad 329

November 14:

Greater Noida 348

Noida 364

Kanpur 188

Lucknow 206

Meerut 351

Muzaffarnagar 202

Prayagraj 224

Varanasi 78

Agra 160

Ghaziabad 356

Baghpat 383

Bulandshahr 257