CHANDIGARH Air quality in the city improved further on Sunday, becoming satisfactory after staying poor or moderate for a week.
The average air quality index (AQI) recorded at the monitoring station in Sector 25 dropped to 85 on Sunday from 142 recorded on Saturday.
According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials, the improvement is because of western disturbances.
“The anticyclonic airlock formed in the city was broken by these winds that caused vertical circulation and mixing of air. The concentration of pollutants had increased last week because of absence of winds, but now winds blowing at speeds around 30km/hr have dispersed the pollutants, ” said an IMD scientist.
Even as the AQI is expected to go down in the next few days, officials said it is unlikely to become good (below 50).
“In the winters, due to temperature inversion, the AQI usually remains above 50,” said the official.
Air even in the satisfactory level can cause minor breathing discomfort to sensitive people.
Meanwhile, maximum temperature went down from 27.1°C on Saturday to 27°C on Sunday. Minimum temperature went down from 15.7°C to 13.2°C. In the next three days, maximum temperature will remain between 26 degrees and 27 degrees while minimum temperature will remain between 13 degrees and 15 degrees.