E-Paper
Air quality improves, but remains ‘very poor’
Gurugram: Air quality in the city improved significantly on Monday, entering the ‘very poor’ category from ‘severe’ a day before, according to the Central Pollution
Gurugram: Air quality in the city improved significantly on Monday, entering the ‘very poor’ category from ‘severe’ a day before, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. Gurugram’s average daily air quality index (AQI) for Monday was 372, down more than a 100 index points from Sunday’s season high of 486.
Experts and officials attributed the improvement to favourable weather conditions, including strong winds, higher temperature and clear skies.
“As was predicted, northwesterly winds across northern states have picked up speed today. The thick layer of smoke which had previously engulfed Delhi-NCR has dissipated, and will continue to dissipate over the next day,” said a senior scientist at the CPCB’s air quality lab in Delhi.
The CPCB’s AQI bulletin on Monday showed improvements in air quality across all major NCR towns, including Delhi, Faridabad, Manesar, Noida and Ghaziabad.
While the daily concentration of PM2.5, Gurugram’s most prominent pollutant, surpassed 500µg/m³ on Sunday (according to data from the CPCB monitor at Vikas Sadan), on Monday it dropped to an average of 362µg/m³. Private air quality monitors across the city, which on Sunday had recorded even more alarming levels of particulate matter (PM), on Monday recorded a dip in its concentration.
By evening, air quality in most parts of the city had improved even further. In South City 1, a private monitor recorded ‘moderate’ air quality, with an average daily AQI of 128, and PM concentrations not exceeding more than 150µg/m³. Another at Tau Devi Lal Biodiversity Park also recorded ‘moderate’ air with an average AQI of 111, with particulate matter concentrations not exceeding 120µg/m³. Another monitor on Golf Course Road recorded an AQI of 108, with PM2.5 levels dipping to 52µg/m³ at 7pm on Monday.
The predicted AQI for Gurugram on Tuesday is 220, indicating ‘poor’ air quality. “The air quality is likely to further improve owing to increased wind speed on November 5 and may remain in very poor category. The air quality is likely to deteriorate marginally and may remain in upper end of very poor category on November 6,” said a SAFAR forecast.
Wind speeds are also predicted to increase, from about 15kmph on Monday to almost 25kmph on Tuesday, which will have a positive effect on pollution levels.
