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Ghaziabad Most Polluted City In North India, Air Quality Worse Than Delhi: Report
Writer: Tashafi Nazir
For most people, journalism sounds hectic and chaotic. For her, it's a passion she has been chasing for years. With an extensive media background, Tashafi believes in putting efforts on presenting a simple incident in the most interesting way.
Uttar Pradesh, 17 Dec 2021 6:47 AM GMT
Editor : Palak Agrawal |
Palak a journalism graduate believes in simplifying the complicated and writing about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. She calls herself a " hodophile" or in layman words- a person who loves to travel.
Creatives : Tashafi Nazir
For most people, journalism sounds hectic and chaotic. For her, it's a passion she has been chasing for years. With an extensive media background, Tashafi believes in putting efforts on presenting a simple incident in the most interesting way.
Ghaziabad recorded an average PM2.5 level of 360 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3) in its most polluted week, while the annual average level stood at 110 ug/m3. PM2.5 refers to a category of particulate pollutant that is 2.5 microns or smaller in size and is a concern for people's health when levels in the air are high.
Ghaziabad has been ranked as the most polluted city in North India with an annual average PM2.5, much worse than those of Delhi, according to the data from 137 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) spread across 56 cities in the region.
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) refers to a category of particulate pollutant that is 2.5 microns or smaller in size and is a concern for people's health when levels in the air are high. These are the tiny particles in the air that reduce visibility and cause the air to appear hazy when levels are elevated.
The Centre for Science and Environment, which analysed the PM2.5 data from January 1, 2019, to November 30, 2021, also stated that PM2.5 levels in otherwise cleaner smaller towns can surpass the concentration reported in the national capital during smog episodes in early winters, News18 reported.
Ghaziabad recorded an average PM2.5 level of 360 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3) in its most polluted week, while the annual average level stood at 110 ug/m3, the highest in North India. Delhi's annual average PM2.5 levels remained at 97 ug/m3 and the weekly levels were 270 ug/m3.
Faridabad, Gurugram, Moradabad, and Noida recorded their annual average PM2.5 levels at 89 ug/m3, 88 ug/m3, 96 ug/m3, and 92 ug/m3 respectively. Chandigarh recorded the lowest annual average levels at 37 ug/m3, followed by Bathinda at 39 ug/m3.
Air Quality Worsens In Winters
Most of the smaller towns in the northern belt of the country have considerably lower annual average PM2.5 levels but during the onset of early winter, when the entire region gets engulfed by smog, these towns report levels similar to Delhi, the green think tank said.
For example, smaller cities like Agra, Firozabad, and Vrindavan have comparatively lower annual average PM2.5 levels than Delhi. But in early winters this year, their weekly average PM2.5 levels surpassed those of Delhi.
The annual average PM2.5 level of the national capital and Agra is 97 ug/m3 and 78 ug/m3, respectively. But during the beginning of winter this year, the weekly average PM2.5 level in Agra was 282 ug/m3 — five per cent more than Delhi's 270 ug/m3.
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