Noida, Gzb saw more ‘severe’ air days in 2021 than last year

Noida: The air quality of Noida and Ghaziabad has dropped several notches in the first half of 2021 compared to six months of last year. Both districts have seen a rise in the number of “severe” days, when the AQI has been more than 400.
This sudden change in air quality levels has baffled officials because the source of pollution in the region has remained similar in both the time frames. Officials in the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) have insisted on a study on the changing pollution levels.
Two pollution hotspots in Noida and Ghaziabad recorded a rise in “severe” AQI days in particular.
They are the Sector 116 station in Noida, which covers areas that see heavy construction like Noida Extension and the 7X sectors, and the Loni station in Ghaziabad.
While Loni had reported just two “severe” days in January last year, it rose to 10 for the same month in 2021. In fact, between January and June, the total number of “severe” days in Loni was only three for 2020 and 16 this year. Noida’s Sector 116 station had recorded three “severe” days in 2020 compared to eight in the first half of this year. AQI records for both these stations are patchy for 2019.
“The local reasons for this spike have to be checked. The primary causes can be waste burning and improper management of construction waste. This year, there has been more traffic on the streets compared to last year, when the lockdown had begun early. But the causes for a large qualitative difference have to be investigated,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director of research and advocacy and head of the air pollution wing at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
Other stations in Ghaziabad, such as Indirapuram, have also shown a significant rise in “severe” AQI days. Indirapuram has recorded eight “severe” days this year compared to just three in 2020.
Air quality expert Rekha Singh said, “Last year, we had reached an almost ideal air quality level because of a prolonged lockdown. The air had cleaned up fast. This year, it is not the same. What we can say is that the AQI in NCR is going back to what it was before the lockdown.”
UPPCB members said they needed to investigate the reason behind the unstable air quality. “The source of pollution in Noida has not increased. But suddenly, we are getting to see spikes in AQI once in a while. We are investigating this. Overall, the AQI has been worse this year than the same period last year,” said Praveen Kumar, regional officer at UPPCB.