Noida & Ghaziabad: An overnight shift in meteorological conditions worsened the air quality of Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad – while pushing the air quality index (AQI) of the three cities to a “severe” level.
Severe level AQI is above the mark of 400. While Noida recorded AQI of 455, Ghaziabad and Greater Noida saw AQI of 470 and 434, respectively, by 4.00pm Friday. On Thursday, the AQI of the three cities were in the “very poor” range. Noida was at 369, Ghaziabad at 343 and Greater Noida at 394. The AQI on the same day last year was slightly better, though still in the “severe” range with Ghaziabad at 412, Greater Noida 420 and Noida 438.
Explaining why AQI jumped a level overnight, officials of the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) said, “The current dip in AQI is because of the prevailing meteorological condition which occurs around the same time every year in the NCR region. Low temperature coupled with low wind movement and a low mixing height of pollutants leads to high density pollution sticking close to ground that increases the AQI.”
Meanwhile, the maximum temperature of Noida, Ghaziabad on Friday was around 19 degrees Celsius and the minimum was around 6 degrees Celsius.
The wind speed is very low around 5kmph and the entire area experienced a morning haze caused by smoke, which led to a low visibility for early morning commuters.
The met department has made a tentative forecast for light rain over the coming days which could clear the sky by the middle of next week. A heavy rainfall of around 11mm-14mm is expected on Sunday night in Noida and Ghaziabad. Rain is also expected on Monday night.