Noida air is worst, Ggm enters ‘severe’ zone

GREATER NOIDA ON FRIDAY RECORDED AN AQI OF 496, TYING IN WITH GZB AS THE SECOND MOST POLLUTED REGION

NOIDA/GURUGRAM: While Delhi’s air quality plummetted on Friday, its neighbouring states did not fare much better. The smog grew thicker and more polluted on Friday to make Noida the most polluted city in the country with the city’s air quality index (AQI) spiking to 499, recorded by the Central Pollution Control Board, on a scale of 0 to 500.

According to the CPCB, the average particulate matter PM2.5 — the major pollutant — touched an all-time high, ranging from 468.26µg/m3 to 523.49µg/m3, which is seven to eight times higher than the national limit of 60µg/m3. If one goes by the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) standards followed the world over, the pollutants is 18 to 21 times the safe limit of 25µg/m3.

Greater Noida on Friday recorded an AQI figure of 496, tying in with Ghaziabad as the second most polluted region in India, up from 473 on Thursday. The AQI of Noida, a day earlier was 452.

“We are observing that the pollution levels in Ghaziabad have dropped since 3am Friday, while in Noida it started increasing. Now, given that offences like open burning and local emissions are almost the same across the region, and nothing major has happened locally to increase emissions over the past 24 hours, the most possible factor for the spike is a change in the wind pattern. Both Ghaziabad and Noida share borders with Delhi, from where the winds are coming. While the earlier wind direction, with minor variations, was mostly towards Ghaziabad, the latest pattern is towards Noida. We are still looking into these factors for a deeper understanding,” Utsav Sharma, environmental engineer and regional officer UPPCB, Ghaziabad, said.

Air quality in Gurugram touched ‘severe’ levels for the first time this season on Friday, recording 469 on the CPCB’S AQI bulletin. A substantial spike from 341 (’very poor) the previous day, this was the highest AQI recorded by Gurugram all year, leaving the city shrouded in a thick blanket of haze and sparking panic.

The average daily concentration of PM2.5, according to the city’s sole official air quality monitor on Friday night, was 454ug/ m3. That is more than seven times the permissible limit of 60ug/m3, according to Indian standards, and more than 45 times the World Health Organization standard of 10ug/m3.

Air quality in Faridabad was recorded in the ‘severe’ category, touching the year’s highest reading of 479 (‘severe’). An analysis of official AQI data shows that air quality in Haryana’s oldest municipality has shot up more than threefold since September.