Post-Diwali air ‘very poor’ in Ghaziabad, winds come to aid of Noida, Greater Noida

The pollution levels in Ghaziabad spiked to “very poor” category on Friday, post the large-scale Diwali fireworks on Thursday evening, to register an air quality index (AQI) of 308. The festival effects were visible in Noida and Greater Noida too but their AQI was relatively better and remained in the “poor” category, with readings of 274 and 268, respectively, on Friday.
The officials of the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) said favourable meteorological conditions — it was a sunny day and temperatures were warmer — and better wind speed by late morning hours on Friday aided in the dispersal of pollutants.
The Ghaziabad city, according to Central Pollution Control Board’s daily 4pm bulletin on Friday, stood among the 12 cities which registered “very poor” AQI after Diwali. The other cities in the list of 12 were Delhi (339), Gurugram (309), Khurja (320), Kurukshetra (306) and Lucknow (306), the bulletin said.
The CPCB figures showed that PM2.5 was high at all four monitoring stations (each) in Ghaziabad and Noida on Friday while PM10 was high at two monitoring stations in Greater Noida. These are fine particulate matter, which easily penetrate the respiratory system, pose serious health risks, especially for children, the elderly and those with pre-existing respiratory conditions.
According to CPCB, Ghaziabad city’s PM2.5 and PM10 levels spiked to “severe” category between 10pm Thursday and 2am Friday, but started to decline at monitoring stations in Indirapuram, Loni and Sanjay Nagar.
“There was widespread bursting of firecrackers on Diwali night and this spiked the pollutants for several hours late Thursday. However, the favourable winds and clear weather minimised the adverse impact on Friday morning and helped disperse pollutants,” said Vikas Mishra, regional officer, UPPCB Ghaziaabd.
The officials in Noida also said they had much cleaner post-Diwali air this year owing to favourable wind speeds.
“Generally, pollution levels spike to ”very poor” or ”severe” category post-Diwali. However, this year, the air quality remained better due to better wind speed which helped disperse pollutants. It is likely that favourable meteorological conditions will further clear the air,” said Utsav Sharma, regional officer, UPPCB Noida.
The CPCB figures indicate that the AQI levels in all the three cities were better than last year. In 2023, the AQI in Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida remained in the “very poor” category with readings of 329, 342 and 363, a day after Diwali, whereas this year, the AQI was “very poor” only in Ghaziabad with a reading of 306, while Noida AQI was 274 and Greater Noida 258, both in the “poor” category.
Environmentalists said higher temperatures and wind speed prevented an “air emergency” in NCR.
“There was a relentless bursting of fireworks from 9pm to 2am on Thursday night. The temperature has not started dipping yet. Smoggy conditions trap pollutants, but this was not the case on Thursday night. Likewise, the favourable wind speed also took away pollutants. So, favourable conditions prevented accumulation of pollutants,” said Vikrant Sharma, a Ghaziabad-based environmentalist and a lawyer.