Noida: The air quality in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad this year remained in the ‘very poor’ category in the first four days after Diwali, while at least two days of the same period in 2022 were in the ‘poor’ category.

While the breathable air a day before the festival was the cleanest in at least seven years, with the respite of rare rain, the AQI Delhi-NCRThe condition worsened in the morning after Diwali celebrations. On Thursday, AQI was recorded at 357 in Noida, while 344 was recorded in Greater Noida and 376 in Ghaziabad. The quality is unlikely to improve in the next few days.
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CPCB’s 24-hour average AQI data shows that the air quality in the three cities started deteriorating from October 28. Greater Noida’s air quality fell to ‘severe’ (above 400) between November 2 and 9. Noida also saw hazardous air on November 4, 5 and 8, while Ghaziabad, which largely saw ‘very poor’ AQI during this period, recorded a ‘severe’ air day on November 3.
After light rain on 10 November, the AQI in the area improved significantly, from ‘severe’ to ‘moderate’ category. On November 11, AQI was recorded at 156 in Noida, 130 in Greater Noida and 160 in Ghaziabad. On Diwali (November 12), the air quality in the three cities was 189, 165 and 186 respectively.
Since restrictions on firecrackers were flouted in cities, the impact of the recent rains wore off after Diwali. CPCB data on November 13 showed that the AQI was back in the ‘very poor’ category in three cities – Noida 363, Greater Noida 342 and Ghaziabad 329. Since then the air quality has only worsened.
Last year, on Diwali, which was celebrated on October 24, the AQI was recorded at 305 in Noida, 274 in Greater Noida and 300 in Ghaziabad – all in the periphery of the ‘poor’ category. But the next day, the air quality improved marginally and the AQI was recorded at 299 in Noida, 272 in Greater Noida and 266 in Ghaziabad, all in the ‘poor’ category.
Even on October 26, the air quality was in the ‘poor’ category, although the AQI deteriorated to ‘very poor’ over the next two days.
According to CPCB’s 24-hour average air quality, all four monitoring stations in Ghaziabad recorded AQI in the high ‘very poor’ category – Indirapuram was the worst at 389, followed by Vasundhara 380, Loni 377 and Sanjay Nagar 351. Was.
According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), there was no possibility of wind speed increasing and carrying away the pollutants till Sunday.
Anti-smog gun in Loni
A video of an anti-smog gun being fired near the Loni monitoring station was going viral on social media on Thursday, drawing criticism from local residents and the pollution department for trying to manipulate AQI levels instead of taking effective pollution control measures. Criticized. Field.
Sachin Gupta, claiming to be a local resident, posted the video on Twitter and said: “This machine monitors the AQI level in Loni. To ensure that the air quality level is low, this station has an anti- Smog guns have been placed.”
When contacted, UPPCB regional officer Vikash Mishra said it appeared that anti-smog guns of Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation were at the spot. “We have directed officials to remove the anti-smog guns from the Loni monitoring station,” he said.