10 days of Grap: Noida, Ghaziabad record higher pollution levels than last year’s

Ghaziabad/Noida: Even as the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) to curb air pollution has come into force on October 15 in the national capital region, Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida continue to reel under the high levels of pollution. The three cities have also witnessed higher average levels of air pollution in the first 10 days of Grap, as compared to the corresponding period last year.

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On Saturday, the air quality of Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida remained in the ‘very poor’ category with the air quality index (AQI) recorded at 356, 347 and 358, respectively, as per the data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

From October 15 to 24 this year, air quality in both Noida and Greater Noida was in the ‘very poor’ category for a total of five days. Meanwhile, from October 15 to 24 last year, Noida suffered ‘very poor’ category AQI for only two days and Greater Noida for only three days, an analysis of CPCB data shows.

Ghaziabad, however, during the same period this year, had recorded ‘very poor’ category AQI on four days while it had three such days from October 15 to 24 last year.

As per the CPCB figures, the average AQI values during the period this year for Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida were 289, 287 and 304, respectively. The corresponding figures for the same period last year were 279, 260, and 260, respectively, the data shows.

“It has been observed that by the end of October every year, AQI value starts deteriorating. This can happen due to increase in vehicles on roads during festival season or instances of stubble burning, besides other local factors. So, we are keeping a close watch on industrial units, construction sites, garbage/stubble burning, etc,” said Utsav Sharma, regional officer of UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), Ghaziabad.

An AQI between zero 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’.

“We are taking up awareness and enforcement measures to keep pollution levels in check while the meteorological conditions have also resulted in deterioration in AQI. We have 19 construction sites which were to conduct self-audit or install CCTV cameras or both. They have submitted their reports and we have initiated the physical verification activity,” said Praveen Kumar, regional officer of UPPCB, Noida.

“Out of 20 air polluting industrial units, 10 have already shifted to CNG/PNG. For those on CNG/PNG, we have asked them for undertaking that they will use only the gas fuel. The other air polluting units have been asked to furnish undertaking and install CCTV cameras,” he added.

UPPCB had recently asked the bigger construction sites, 20,000 square metres and above, to conduct self-audit and also to install CCTV cameras whose control will remain with the pollution board for monitoring of air pollution. The air polluting units which use coal or wood as fuel were asked by UPPCB to install CCTVs facing their chimneys.

Meanwhile, the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) on Saturday said that the scenario (‘very poor’ air quality) will be “short lived.” “This is mainly because the extremely calm local surface winds which were prevailing yesterday are likely to increase slightly and may further pick-up by October 26. Slow improvement in the current condition is expected by October 26 leading to a middle range of ‘very Poor’.

It said that SAFAR-synergised stubble fire counts stood at 1,292 on October 23. “The boundary layers wind direction is westerly and wind speed is low. Hence, pollutant transport towards the Delhi region will remain low. The SAFAR model estimate of stubble burning share in PM2.5 is 9% for today,” it added.