Ghaziabad: The district’s average PM10 concentration from Jan to Aug this year has doubled from the same period last year, a winter action plan drawn up by Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) states.While the average PM10 concentration was recorded at 137 micrograms per cubic metre in the first eight months of 2025, it was recorded at 205 micrograms per cubic metre this year. The average PM2.5 concentration across all four of its monitoring stations — Vasundhara, Indirapuram, Loni and Sanjay Nagar — was recorded at 82 micrograms per cubic metre. This was 22% more than the average of 67 micrograms per cubic metre recorded in the same period last year.It also identified nine pollution hotspots — Sahibabad, Raj Nagar Extension, Loni, Bhopra-Delhi Border, Siddharth Vihar/Kanawani Pushta Road, Vijay Nagar and South Side GT Road, Lal Kuan, Indirapuram, and Vasundhara/Vaishali — prone to excessive emissions and dust, up from the seven shortlisted last year. A UPPCB regional officer said that last year, officials identified seven hotspots, while Indirapuram and Vasundhara/Vaishali were added this year.The hotspots, the report states, suffer from dust pollution due to construction activities, traffic congestion, industrial pollution and dumping of construction and demolition waste.The report, ‘Plan to Tackle Air Pollution during the ensuing Winter Season 2026-27’, was submitted at a review meeting convened by chief minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow on Friday.“The chief minister has directed that awareness must be created and residents encouraged to use EVs and public transport. He also instructed agencies to increase EV charging points,” said a UPPCB official. The chief minister was told that 18 mechanical road sweeping machines, 42 water sprinklers and 21 anti-smog guns will be deployed at these hotspots this winter to mitigate pollution.“As a pre-emptive measure, action has been taken against 422 illegal and polluting industrial units since Jan. They have been sealed and their electricity connections disconnected. Environmental compensation of Rs 1.27 crore has also been imposed on 33 construction units for repeated violations of dust-mitigation measures,” the official said. UPPCB also has identified 210 more polluting industries and 313 brick kilns.Environmentalists, however, remain sceptical about the effectiveness of pollution-control measures. Environmentalist Sushil Raghav said Ghaziabad’s rank in the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan-2026 had improved from 12th last year to 9th this year among 48 cities in the 10-lakh-plus population category. “GMC data, however, shows Loni recorded PM2.5 levels 33% above the average of its monitoring stations in 2025-26, while PM10 was 18% higher. Whether pollution has actually improved, and whether the rankings and data present the true picture, is evident for residents battling air pollution every winter to decide,” Raghav said.
