Noida/Ghaziabad/ New Delhi: Very slow wind flowing at a negligible 2km/h has almost brought pollution dispersion to a standstill leading to severe air quality index (AQI) in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad.
Noida on Thursday registered an AQI of 412, Greater Noida was at 410 while Ghaziabad at 429. “The current AQI situation is the result of the cold weather conditions. Such a low windspeed basically leads to no dispersion of pollutants. This is a typical situation faced by NCR every year around this time and that shoots the AQI up,” Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board officials (UPPCB) explained.
Noida-Ghaziabad maximum temperature was around 19 degrees and minimum was at 2 degrees. Windspeed was as low as 2 kmph with 51% humidity.
The air quality of the three cities has been on a steady decline over the last few days with a shift in the weather condition following the rain. Early morning fogs have also lead to low visibility for morning commuters.
The evening temperature post sunset has been plummeting by several degrees. According to the weather forecast, while there is no immediate forecast for rain, the next few days are going to be partially cloudy. “The air quality will improve as the sun becomes bright and the wind speed improves,” a pollution department official said.
Meanwhile, the capital’s air condition deteriorated to ‘severe’ category on Thursday, with an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 429, according to Central Pollution Control Board. Experts said slow winds, change in wind direction, low minimum temperature, moisture in the air and poor ventilation have led to accumulation of pollutants. The minimum temperature recorded on Thursday was 2 degrees Celsius.
According to Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, slight improvement in the air quality is expected after Monday.
Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at Indian Meteorological Department, and head of the regional weather forecasting centre, said, “The average wind speed recorded on Thursday was less than 5 kmph, which impacted the dispersion of pollutants. The wind direction changed in the afternoon from north-westerly to south-westerly and it trapped pollutants during the transition phase. Besides, low minimum temperature and moisture in the air due to fog slowed down the dispersion of pollutants.”