Air quality 'severe' in parts of Greater Noida, 'very poor' in Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Faridabad

Air quality reached "severe" levels in parts of Gautam Buddh Nagar in the National Capital Region (NCR) on Monday, while it largely remained "very poor" in Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad, according to a government agency.

Air quality reached "severe" levels in parts of Gautam Buddh Nagar in the National Capital Region (NCR) on Monday, while it largely remained "very poor" in Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad, according to a government agency. Concentration of major air pollutants PM 2.5 and PM 10 during the morning hours remained in the "severe" category in parts of the four immediate neighbouring districts of Delhi, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

An air quality index (AQI) 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'. In Gautam Buddh Nagar's Noida, the AQI was 383 at Sector 116, followed by 373 at Sector 62, 364 at Sector 1, while the air quality monitoring station at Sector 125 showed "insufficient" data for the last 24 hours.

In Greater Noida, an AQI of 433 was recorded in Knowledge Park V and 359 at Knowledge Park III, according to the CPCB data at 8 pm. In Ghaziabad, an AQI of 399 was recorded at the station in Loni followed by 363 at Indirapuram, 348 at Sanjay Nagar and 317 at Vasundhara, according to the CPCB figures.

An AQI of 340 was recorded at Gurgaon's Vikas Sadan followed by 253 at NISE Gwal Pahari, 175 at Teri Gram, while there was “no sufficient data” for Sector 51. In Faridabad, the AQI was recorded 372 at Sector 16A, 342 at Sector 30, 321 at New Industrial Town and 241 at Sector 11 at 8 pm.

The concentration of PM 2.5 and PM 10 in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad around 10 am on Monday was near or upwards of 400 in the "severe" category, according to CPCB data. As a possible health impact, the CPCB states, an AQI in the "very poor" category can lead to respiratory illness on prolonged exposure, while in the "severe" category, healthy people gets affected and those with existing diseases can get seriously impacted.

With the worsening of air quality, the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) has been implemented in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) from October 15 to check air pollution.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)