For the third day in a row, residents of Noida and its neighbouring cities woke up to a hazardous grey blanket of smog on Monday, with air quality stubbornly lodged in the "severe" category. The toxic air made breathing difficult, triggered coughing fits, and caused eyes to sting, offering no respite from the public health emergency.
AQI Numbers Paint a Grim Picture
According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Noida's overall Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 437 at 4 pm on Monday. This was a marginal improvement from Sunday's 466 and Saturday's 455, but the dip provided little relief on the ground. Pollution levels remained dangerously high through the night and early morning hours.
An analysis of CPCB data revealed alarming details. At monitoring stations in Sectors 116 and 125, the concentration of deadly PM2.5 pollutants maxed out at 500 micrograms per cubic metre — the upper limit of the monitoring scale — for nearly 10 hours between 8 pm on Sunday and 6 am on Monday. Sector 116 recorded an average AQI of 463, placing it in the "severe-plus" category, while Sector 125 logged 449, in the "severe" level.
Residents Take Matters Into Their Own Hands
Visuals from high-rise societies in Noida's 7x sectors showed towering apartment blocks rising from a dense grey haze, with lower floors completely invisible. Some residents described the scene as buildings seemingly floating on a cloud of pollution.
Frustrated by the persistent hazardous air, some housing societies have initiated their own mitigation measures. At Exotica Fresco in Sector 137, residents began sprinkling water from rooftops on Monday in an attempt to settle dust and pollutants within the complex premises. While residents likened the effort to creating "artificial rain," experts clarified that this is distinct from cloud seeding, a weather-modification technique that uses substances like silver iodide.
"Air quality has been in the severe category for days and several residents are facing health issues," said Surojit Dasgupta, general secretary of the apartment owners' association. He explained that the water sprinkling activity started from the F Tower and will continue two to three times a week as long as the AQI remains severe. Nearly 2,000 people live across 10 towers in this condominium.
Grim Situation Across NCR, Enforcement Actions Taken
The crisis extended across the National Capital Region. Greater Noida recorded some of the worst air in the country, with its AQI hovering at 447. At the Knowledge Park V station, PM2.5 levels hit 500 micrograms per cubic metre for six straight hours. Ghaziabad also continued to choke, recording an AQI of 444. Vasundhara was the worst-hit pocket, with PM2.5 levels pegged at 500 for 12 consecutive hours, leading to an average AQI of 472 (severe-plus).
Residents and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) criticised authorities for ineffective enforcement of pollution control measures. Rajiva Singh, president of the Noida Federation of Apartment Owners' Associations (NOFAA), called for stricter implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), including bans on old vehicles and construction activities.
Regulatory agencies, however, stated that enforcement was underway. The Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore on M/S Centurian Park Phase-III in Greater Noida for illegal construction during the GRAP Stage IV ban. In Ghaziabad, seven hot-mix plants were sealed in Sahibabad, and UPPCB's Noida unit fined seven developers a total of Rs 2.9 lakh for GRAP violations.
Meteorological conditions offered no hope. Dense fog, low temperatures, and calm winds trapped pollutants close to the ground, preventing dispersion. Forecasts suggest no immediate relief, with weak winds and fog likely to persist, prolonging the smog spell over the region.
