Noida records ‘moderate’ air after 3 weeks

THE LAST TIME THE AIR QUALITY OF NOIDA WAS ‘MODERATE’ WAS ON FEBRUARY 6

NOIDA: The air quality of Noida improved to ‘moderate’ levels on Monday as high wind speed ventilated pollutants, letting the city breathe its cleanest air in over three weeks.

Neighbouring Ghaziabad and Greater Noida also showed improvement but remained within the ‘poor’ category of air quality, with pollution monitoring agencies predicting no serious deterioration immediately.

The last time the air quality of Noida was ‘moderate’ was on February 6.

According to the System of air quality and weather forecasting and research (SAFAR), the air quality is likely to oscillate between the ‘poor’ to ‘moderate’ category.

“Surface winds are moderate, and forecasted to increase and stay high for the next 48 hrs. A gradual increase in maximum temperature is also expected. Day-time high surface wind speed, warmer temperatures and elevated boundary-layer height have improved the ventilation and dispersion substantially and are influencing the AQI positively. The intermittent lifting of local dust under the prevailing meteorological conditions continues to remain the dominating factor to influence the AQI adversely,” said the SAFAR statement on Monday.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the air quality index (AQI) of

Noida on Monday, on a scale of 0 to 500, improved to 169 against 218 a day earlier.

The AQI of Greater Noida on Monday improved to 215, from 220 a day earlier. The air quality index of Ghaziabad was 208, against 248 a day earlier.

An AQI level up to 100 is considered ‘good’, 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’.

Weather analysts said the wind speed increased due to the comparative low-pressure gradient or difference in atmospheric pressure of the region to that of the northern Himalayan states.

“The wind speed on Monday was high. It went upto 18 knots, which is about 35 kmph, due to which particle pollutants were swept away, leading to better air quality. Besides, the high wind speed sweeping the entire Indogangetic plain led to a slight drop in maximum temperatures. If the wind speed remains good for the next few days, ventilation will be good and the air quality may further improve,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president, Meteorology and climate change, Skymet.