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Air quality falls to ‘very poor’, likely to worsen
Gurugram: A day after the city witnessed the cleanest air since Diwali, the air quality index (AQI) score fell to the ‘very poor’ category again on Monday, as per
Gurugram: A day after the city witnessed the cleanest air since Diwali, the air quality index (AQI) score fell to the ‘very poor’ category again on Monday, as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. Experts said the air quality is likely to get worse on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The city’s average AQI value on Monday was 326, up from Sunday’s 282 (poor), as per the CPCB’s air quality monitor at Vikas Sadan in Sector 11. Saturday too had ‘poor’ air quality, with a reading of 290.
The city had ‘moderate’ air quality late Sunday night. However, pollution levels rose early Monday morning to the ‘very poor’ category, the CPCB data showed.
At 4am on Monday, the monitor recorded an AQI of 308 (‘very poor’), which further rose to 413 (‘severe’) around 1pm. The AQI value fell again to the ‘poor’ category towards the evening.
According to experts, the air quality deteriorated on Monday due to a change in wind direction and a fall in temperature. The wind direction changed from south-westerly to north-westerly, which brought in cold winds from the mountains and smoke from farm fires in Punjab and Haryana. The experts said the phenomenon is usual in this month.
“As the temperatures are dropping, the pollutants are hanging at a lower level in the atmosphere. The morning dew doesn’t allow the particles to disperse. The winds carry pollutants from other regions during the day which accumulate in the atmosphere and increase the pollution levels,” said Sachin Panwar, an air quality expert in the city.
The minimum temperature on Monday fell by around two degrees Celsius to record 13.2 degrees. The maximum temperature too fell to 28.5 degrees Celsius on Monday from 29.2 degrees Celsius on Sunday, as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Temperatures are expected to fall further by another degree or two this week, expects the IMD.
According to the experts, the AQI could likely touch the ‘severe’ category on Tuesday and then fall to the upper end of the ‘very poor’ category.
