The showers also brought down the temperature, with further reduction expected over the weekend.
Noida/Ghaziabad: Overnight rain brought significant relief from air pollution in Gautam Budh Nagar on Friday, with the air quality index (AQI) in both Noida and Greater Noida dropping to the “satisfactory” category from “poor” a day earlier.
Weather experts attributed the change in weather across Delhi-NCR to the interaction of Cyclone Arnab with a western disturbance. The skies will clear up from Saturday. In Greater Noida, the Knowledge Park III station recorded an AQI of 52, with only one of the two listed monitoring stations active, according to data updated on Friday afternoon. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded 39mm of rainfall in Gautam Budh Nagar up to 8.30 am on Friday. The maximum temperature recorded at 5.30 pm on Thursday was 26.9°C, while the minimum temperature recorded at 8.30 am on Friday was 18.9°C, according to the weather department’s observations.
Weather experts said the sharp improvement in air quality was due to the washing out of suspended pollutants and improved atmospheric conditions. “The change in weather is due to the interaction of Cyclone Arnab with a western disturbance.
However, while the day temperature will rise, the minimum temperature will show a dip,” Mahesh Palawat, vice-president of meteorology and climate change at Skymet Weather, said. He said the rain activity would gradually weaken, with dry weather expected to set in from Saturday.
