Environmental News from Delhi, India:
As the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) witnesses yet another heatwave this season, the air quality in Noida has started to deteriorate.
While the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an alert for a heatwave this week in the region on Wednesday, Noida recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 317 on the day, which increased to 322 on Thursday, both in the “very poor” category. Meanwhile, Greater Noida’s AQI improved marginally from 314 in the “very poor” category on Wednesday to 269 in the “poor” category.
An AQI reading between zero and 50 is considered “good,” 51 and 100 “satisfactory,” 101 and 200 “moderate,” 201 and 300 “poor,” 301 and 400 “very poor,” and 401 and 500 “severe.”
According to the IMD, Noida recorded a maximum temperature of 44 degrees Celsius on Thursday and a minimum temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, which is about five degrees above normal. The maximum temperature is expected to increase further to around 45 degrees Celsius over the weekend.
Officials say that similar conditions may persist for the next few days. “The high pollution levels may not be directly related to the heat, but the increase could be because of strong winds that carried dust into the area. We are holding regular checking drives and penalizing those found violating pollution norms,” said Praveen Kumar, regional officer, UPPCB Noida.
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Source: Hindustan Times