NOIDA/GHAZIABAD: Winds blowing in from the south held disperse pollutants and helped improve the air quality index in Noida and Ghaziabad on Wednesday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
In Noida, the AQI dropped to 367 from the previous day's 410. PM2.5 levels fell from the 500 mark to 481 for the first time in over a week, while PM10 levels were down to 454. But PM2.5 (safe mark 60) was still eight times over the limit and PM10 (safe mark) 100 nearly five times.
"With the wind blowing in, pollutants are expected to disperse now onwards. The reason for these extremely polluted days has been a fallout of the weather condition in the region. We have inspected NCR extensively, and we need round-the-year vigilance and ground-level pollution control to keep a check on emission and pollutants suspended in the air," CPCB air quality chief Dipankar Saha told TOI.
According to Saha, there are vast patches of arid and dusty land in both Noida and Ghaziabad. "NCR needs landscaping. Grass has to be planted and grown on dry and barren patches of land, as they are largely behind dust pollution. At construction sites, both government and private, construction material needs to be covered at all times," Saha said.
The Noida Authority used fire trucks and water tankers to spray water in several locations on Wednesday. Authority officials, including Noida Authority chief Alok Tandon and a regional officer of the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), supervised the procedure at four locations in the city.
The move came after the NGT directed the Authority to sprinkle water from a height in the city to deal with the haze. Water was sprinkled near Amity University, along the link road between Noida entry gate to Mahamaya flyover, the road near DPS and Sector 29, and near construction sites in Sector 74.
Officials said they noticed a 20-25% drop in the readings of PM10 and PM2.5 after the sprinkling.
In Ghaziabad, the AQI for Wednesday was recorded at 418, while it was 467 on Tuesday. "Ghaziabad's AQI has started improving since Monday because of the wind movement and relatively less foggy conditions," a district pollution board official said.
But Ghaziabad's worries are far from over. "Even though AQI has improved, Ghaziabad is still leading the pollution table, which clearly shows that we cannot afford to lower our guard. We will continue with the anti-pollution measures," the official added.
Acting against violators, GDA imposed fines of Rs 1.8 lakh on nine builders for flouting environmental norms.
In Noida, the AQI dropped to 367 from the previous day's 410. PM2.5 levels fell from the 500 mark to 481 for the first time in over a week, while PM10 levels were down to 454. But PM2.5 (safe mark 60) was still eight times over the limit and PM10 (safe mark) 100 nearly five times.
"With the wind blowing in, pollutants are expected to disperse now onwards. The reason for these extremely polluted days has been a fallout of the weather condition in the region. We have inspected NCR extensively, and we need round-the-year vigilance and ground-level pollution control to keep a check on emission and pollutants suspended in the air," CPCB air quality chief Dipankar Saha told TOI.
According to Saha, there are vast patches of arid and dusty land in both Noida and Ghaziabad. "NCR needs landscaping. Grass has to be planted and grown on dry and barren patches of land, as they are largely behind dust pollution. At construction sites, both government and private, construction material needs to be covered at all times," Saha said.
The Noida Authority used fire trucks and water tankers to spray water in several locations on Wednesday. Authority officials, including Noida Authority chief Alok Tandon and a regional officer of the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), supervised the procedure at four locations in the city.
The move came after the NGT directed the Authority to sprinkle water from a height in the city to deal with the haze. Water was sprinkled near Amity University, along the link road between Noida entry gate to Mahamaya flyover, the road near DPS and Sector 29, and near construction sites in Sector 74.
Officials said they noticed a 20-25% drop in the readings of PM10 and PM2.5 after the sprinkling.
In Ghaziabad, the AQI for Wednesday was recorded at 418, while it was 467 on Tuesday. "Ghaziabad's AQI has started improving since Monday because of the wind movement and relatively less foggy conditions," a district pollution board official said.
But Ghaziabad's worries are far from over. "Even though AQI has improved, Ghaziabad is still leading the pollution table, which clearly shows that we cannot afford to lower our guard. We will continue with the anti-pollution measures," the official added.
Acting against violators, GDA imposed fines of Rs 1.8 lakh on nine builders for flouting environmental norms.
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