Ghaziabad most polluted city in country; Delhi, Noida no better

NEW DELHI: Air quality in Delhi continued to remain in the emergency levels on Friday, as wind speed in the city started picking up only after noon, experts said.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)-led taskforce will review the pollution levels on Saturday to take a call on whether to extend the curbs. According to weather scientists, air quality is expected to improve on Saturday.

“We will review the situation Saturday, as air quality is expected to improve significantly on account of wind speed picking up. We will see if extending the ban on polluting industries and other such activities are required,” said a senior CPCB official.

CPCB data shows that the overall air quality index (AQI) on Friday was recorded 458, which was only a marginal improvement from Thursday’s 463. Weathermen said that the forecast had predicted more improvement in the air quality but calm winds through Thursday night and early Friday morning pushed the pollution levels further into the emergency zone.

Ghaziabad continued to be the most polluted city in the country for the second consecutive day. The air quality of the city has been in the ‘severe’ category since November 12.

Officials said local pollutants, mixed with smoke from stubble burning in Haryana and Punjab, has worsened conditions but the wind speed is likely to pick up by November 18.

The city’s air quality was 471, the highest across the country, but slightly lower than Thursday’s 486.

The air quality of Noida continued to remain ‘severe’ on Friday, for the fourth day in a row, owing to the meteorological conditions and local emissions.

It was the second most polluted city in the country on Friday — a day before that, it had worst air in the entire country, a dubious honour it had shared with neighbouring Ghaziabad.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board), the air quality index (AQI) of Noida on Friday, on a scale of 0 to 500, was 469, in ‘severe’ category.