Weather takes a pink hue
Weather has turned pink with a conspicuous nip in the air of Lucknow. The nights have become 'chilly' as temperatures have come down by 2-3 degree Celsius. However, the days are still warms but winter is expected to set in by Diwali.
The weathermen too foresee a further fall in night temperatures along with dry weather conditions for the next few days. Though the difference between the night and day temperature is gaping. While the day temperatures hover around 32-34 degree Celsius, nights are cool with 16-18 degree Celsius.
Before the fall, the feel of fall is prominent as morning walkers and evening strollers can be spotted in half jackets and light stoles. As per the Met officials, day temperatures will continue to hover above 30 degree Celsius but will reflect drop by a degree or two as the week progresses.
Chhattar Manzil to be resurrected
Lucknow is the repository of a rich Awadhi culture which is mirrored by its monuments. If all goes well as per the plans, the Gomti riverbank near Chattar Manzil will soon come up with some recreational areas adding to the cultural beauty of the city of Nawabs. The pa has been conceived under the 'Smart City Mission' which aims at restoring heritage structures and upgrade the infrastructure in Lucknow. Riverbank near Chhattar Manzil, which used to house the prestigious Central Drug Research Institute (CSIR-CDRI) since its inception in 1951 till a couple of years ago when CDRI was relocated to its own building on city outskirts. As per the plans, by the start of next year, the riverbank near Chattar Manzil will be restored. Besides rejuvenating the heritage centre at Chattar Manzil, the plan is to revive the historically important 'thandi sadak' - a 1.72km road along riverbank that connects Chattar Manzil with Rumi Darwaza.
Plastic-free airport
Despite state government's orders over ban on plastics, Lucknow is yet to go plastic free but the international airport in the state capital has joined the club of plastic-free airports. It has not come through easily but airport authorities had to take concrete step to stop use of plastic and polythene on the premises. Disposable plastic products like spoons, forks, cups, plates, glasses, bowls and container are totally prohibited on CCS premises. As a substitute for plastic carry bags, environment friendly cloth bags and plates would be used inside the airport. The state government has already banned plastic bags in the state any plastic bag of less than 50 micron is not permitted for use in the city.
'Very poor' air
While 11 of 14 most polluted cities are based in Uttar Pradesh, the whole of last week witnessed Lucknow's air quality index (AQI) crossing 300, highest of post-monsoon season so far, signifying that it was 'very poor'. With the drop in temperatures, the air quality of the city is likely to go down further in the days to come, feel the experts. They hold low temperature and poor wind velocity responsible for AQI spike along with rising vehicular pollution, traffic congestion and dug up roads.
Lucknow's AQI was 307 making the air figure in 'very poor' category, denoting that prolonged exposure can lead to severe respiratory illness. Minimum temperature dropping to 15.6 degree Celsius is the main reason for air quality deterioration. Temperature drop and low wind velocity don't allow particulate matter to disperse which chokes the city with vehicular smoke and dust.