Pollution decreases as winds speed up
NOIDA: Pollution in the three cities saw a sharp drop on Friday, with air quality levels descending two categories to “moderate”. The Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) figures show that Noida and Ghaziabad saw the best air quality of the year yet on Friday, after having been under “very poor” and “severe” levels of air quality since January 13. On Friday, while the air quality of Ghaziabad was “satisfactory” for the first time this year, Noida and Greater Noida’s air was “satisfactory” last on January 4, 2021.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the air quality index (AQI) of Noida, on a scale of 0 to 500, on Friday was 114 against 322 a day earlier.
Greater Noida’s AQI was 144 against 312 a day earlier. The AQI of Ghaziabad was 91 against 338 on Thursday.
“The wind speed on Friday went up around 20 kmph during the day time, while drizzle seen a day earlier in some parts of the national Capital region had helped wash out the pollutants. The wind direction currently is north-westerly, which is cold but dry, which helps disperse particles in the air,” said an official at the India Meteorological Department (IMD), requesting anonymity
With the return of cold winds, the minimum temperature too fell sharply in Noida, by as much as six degrees in a single day, and is likely to fall further.
“The minimum temperature will hover around 6° Celsius for two days. There will also be shallow fog in the morning, however, there won’t be any cold waves,” said the IMD official quoted above.
On Friday, the minimum temperature for Noida was recorded at 9° Celsius, against 15° Celsius a day earlier. The maximum temperature for Noida was 22.4° Celsius against 25.2° Celsius a day earlier. Mercury on Saturday will likely be around 6 and 24° Celsius.
According to the System of air quality and weather forecasting and research (SAFAR), the AQI may marginally drop to the “poor” category on Saturday.
“Isolated rain observed under the influence of a western disturbance and high winds contributed to the AQI improvement. Surface winds are low in the morning but forecasted to improve during the daytime. The AQI is likely to marginally deteriorate to the “moderate” to “poor” category for Saturday. The improved AQI is likely to stay for a couple of days; “poor” to the lower end of “very poor” AQI is forecasted for February 7 and 8,” said the SAFAR statement on Friday.