Ghaziabad: “It has become difficult for patients to breathe in such air. My mother started having breathing problems at 10:30 pm on Thursday. We had to take her to the doctor.” said Arvind, a resident of Dasna.
Despite the prohibition on crackers this Diwali, the number of fireworks was huge. The Air Quality Index (AQI) readings of Ghaziabad breached the “very poor” category and spiked to “severe” a day after Diwali. The AQI of Ghaziabad on Friday was 470 according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which increased to 476 on Saturday’s afternoon. The reason behind the persistent AQI after Diwali is the low wind movement, traffic, dust and stubble burning.
On Saturday afternoon, the locality with the highest AQI is Loni with an AQI of 493. Followed by this are Indiarpuram and Sanjay Nagar with an AQI of 476. Vasundhara and other parts of the city also breathed in an AQI of more than 470.
“The air quality of the region was impacted as firecrackers were burnt on Thursday evening and the air quality continued to deteriorate till 3 am on Friday. Thereafter, we witnessed a downward trend. The pollution levels have also increased because of stubble burning in the neighbouring states. It is likely, as per the pollution pattern, that the air quality will improve from November 7,” said Utsav Sharma, regional officer of UPPCB, (Ghaziabad).