Smog clears slightly; but air still ‘very poor’ in Noida, Ghaziabad
Despite the improvement, Noida continued to rank as the second most polluted city in the country for the day. Delhi topped the list with an AQI of 354
NOIDA: A marginal improvement in air quality brought brief relief to the residents of Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad districts on Tuesday, though pollution levels continued to remain in the “very poor” category across the region.
Noida recorded an average air quality index (AQI) of 352 on Tuesday, while Greater Noida stood at 326 and Ghaziabad at 332, according to the official statistics of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) at 4pm daily bulletin.
Despite the improvement, the Noida, which falls under Gautam Budh Nagar district, continued to rank as the second most polluted city in the country for the day. Delhi topped the list with an AQI of 354.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) classifies an AQI of 0-50 as “good”, 51-100 as “satisfactory”, 101-200 as “moderate”, 201-300 as “poor”, 301-400 as “very poor” and 401-500 as “severe”.
Pollution levels had remained severe over the weekend and early this week.
On Monday, Greater Noida was recorded the most polluted city in the country with an AQI of 447, followed by Noida at 437 and Ghaziabad at 444. On Sunday, Noida recorded an AQI of 466, while Greater Noida and Ghaziabad logged 435 and 459, respectively.
Residents said on Tuesday that visibility showed slight improvement during the day. “There was a bit of sunlight and the haze was not as dense as yesterday. It felt slightly clearer, though the air was still uncomfortable,” said Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Sector 51, Noida.
Weather experts attributed the improvement to changing meteorological conditions.
Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change) at Skymet, said the wind speed was picking up and shifting to a westerly direction over the plains of north India. “With winds strengthening from the west, fog intensity will gradually decrease. Fog is now shifting towards eastern India, and AQI levels are also expected to improve,” he said.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), weather conditions remained dry across the region, with no rainfall recorded in the past 24 hours.
On Tuesday, Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad recorded minimum temperatures at 8.4°C and 12.2 °C respectively, while maximum temperatures hovered around 24–25°C.
On Monday, Gautam Budh Nagar logged a maximum of about 22.9°C and a minimum of 8.8°C, while Ghaziabad recorded a maximum of 21.6°C and a minimum of 8.3°C.
The marginal improvement comes days after district administrations in Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad ordered online classes for pre-nursery to Class 5 and a hybrid mode for Classes 6 to 12 on Sunday. The decision followed the implementation of Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) across the Delhi-NCR, after air quality deteriorated to severe levels.
Officials said while weather conditions may offer temporary relief, pollution levels remain a concern and continued monitoring is necessary.
NOIDA: Air quality in Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad showed slight improvement on Tuesday with AQI readings of 352 and 332, respectively, but remained in the "very poor" category. Residents noted better visibility and changing weather conditions contributed to the brief respite, despite ongoing pollution concerns. Authorities had recently implemented online classes due to severe air quality levels.