Noida, Ghaziabad see best air quality of season on Monday

Noida: Noida and its adjoining areas saw their best air quality of the season on Monday, with rain and easterly winds washing away pollutants from the air.

Noida: Noida and its adjoining areas saw their best air quality of the season on Monday, with rain and easterly winds washing away pollutants from the air.

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According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), due to an active western disturbance (WD) in the Indian Himalayan region – a phenomenon that causes snow in the northern states – the entire national Capital region (NCR) is currently seeing rainfall activity, with peak rains on Monday.

The air quality that had been oscillating between “severe” and “very poor” for past three days, improved to “moderate” category on Monday.

“The region’s air quality improved primarily due to the rain and the easterly winds which were slightly warmer and were flowing at a speed of 10 kmph. The wind speed and directions will remain the same on Tuesday (January 5) as well, which may keep pollution levels under check,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre, IMD.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB), the air quality index (AQI) of Noida, on a scale of 0 to 500, was 154 on Monday, against 364 day earlier.

Greater Noida’s AQI was 134 on Monday, against 364 a day earlier, while Ghaziabad was at 168, against 384 a day earlier.

An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered “moderate”, between 201 and 300 is “poor”, between 301 and 400 is considered “very poor” and above 400 is considered “severe”.

The AQI levels of the three cities were all in the “severe” category on January 1 and 2, with Noida and Ghaziabad the top two most polluted cities in the country.

Levels of particulate matter (PM) 2.5, a major pollutant in the region, improved from being at seven times at the starting of the year, towards almost matching the permissible limit on Monday.

The PM2.5 levels in Noida were recorded at 91.12 microgrammes per cubic metres (µg/m3) on Monday, against 210.36µg/m3 a day earlier, and 382.37µg/m3 on January 1.

The PM2.5 for Greater Noida improved to 64.91µg/m3 against 201.25µg/m3 a day earlier, and 310.14 g/m3 on January 1, while for Ghaziabad it was 477.54µg/m3 on January 1, which improved to 255.91µg/m3 on Sunday and 84.41µg/m3 on Monday.

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar), the AQI will remain favourable for another two days and deteriorate only slightly towards Wednesday, after the rain stops.

“The overall air quality has improved to the “moderate” category, as forecasted. Rain observed over many places over the Delhi region and associated wet deposition of pollutants has led to a clean environment. Under the influence of an active Western Disturbance, a wet spell with widespread precipitation is likely to continue Monday and Tuesday. The AQI is likely to improve marginally and stay in the “moderate” to “satisfactory” category Monday and Tuesday. AQI is likely to marginally deteriorate and in the “moderate” to “poor” category on January 6 and 7,” said a Safar statement on Monday.