Gurgaon: The air quality in Gurgaon continued to be in the ‘very poor’ category with the city recording an AQI of 368 on Tuesday. The AQI was 369 on Monday. According to the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), the air quality may even turn ‘severe’ in the next few days due to decreasing wind speed and dropping temperatures. The average wind speed decreased to 8km/hr on Tuesday from 10km/hr on Monday.
On Tuesday, three of the four air monitoring stations in Gurgaon recorded AQI in the ‘very poor’ category. A ‘very poor’ AQI can lead to “respiratory illness on prolonged exposure”, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. The Gwal Pahari monitoring station recorded the highest AQI of 386, followed by Vikas Sadan with an AQI of 373 and Sector 51 with an AQI of 345. The AQI at Teri Gram was not recorded on Tuesday due to insufficient data.
HSPCB officials said that civic authorities and other agencies were following all measures, according to the graded response action plan (GRAP). “Besides water sprinkling on roads and mechanised sweeping of roads, agencies are implementing a strict ban on dumping and burning of garbage,” said Kuldeep Singh, regional officer, HSPCB. On Monday, HSPCB officials had pointed out that garbage burning in several parts of the city was contributing to a rise in pollutants.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Gurgaon recorded a minimum temperature of 13 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. The low temperature is currently preventing the dispersal of pollutants closer to the ground, said air quality experts.
Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality again turned ‘severe’ on Tuesday as the city recorded an AQI of 404, up from 390 on Monday. However, the contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s PM2.5 reduced from 30% on Monday to 27% on Tuesday, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).
Following the same trend, the air quality in Faridabad again turned “severe” on Tuesday. On Monday, Faridabad’s AQI was 360 in the ‘very poor’ category but on Tuesday, it became 430. “With the region currently witnessing a dip in minimum temperature, pollutants are likely to stay in the lower atmosphere, making the air quality unbreathable,” an IMD official said.
