Air quality in ‘severe’ category for third consecutive day in Gurugram

The air quality of the city has been worsening for the past three days but continues to remain in the “severe” category. On Friday, a day after Diwali, Gurugram reported an AQI reading of 472, and on Saturday, it reported an AQI reading of 456, with PM2.5 being the primary pollutant on both days

For the third consecutive day, Gurugram’s air quality was in the “severe” category with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 419 on Sunday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.

A weather bulletin issued on Sunday evening by the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi-NCR stated that the air quality over the region is likely to improve over the next five days but remain in the “very poor” category, with PM2.5 as the primary pollutant. (Praveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The air quality of the city has been worsening for the past three days but continues to remain in the “severe” category. On Friday, a day after Diwali, Gurugram reported an AQI reading of 472, and on Saturday, it reported an AQI reading of 456, with PM2.5 being the primary pollutant on both days.

On Sunday, air quality improved slightly in the neighbouring district of Faridabad and was recorded in the “very poor” category with an AQI reading of 372, improving from an AQI reading of 449 in the “severe” category on Saturday.

An AQI reading between 0 and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”.

A weather bulletin issued on Sunday evening by the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi-NCR stated that the air quality over the region is likely to improve over the next five days but remain in the “very poor” category, with PM2.5 as the primary pollutant. On Monday and Tuesday, the ventilation index is likely to be 10,000 m2/s and 14,000 m2/s respectively with a wind speed of 4-15 kilometres per hour, which is likely to help in the dispersion of pollutants. A ventilation index lower than 6,000 m2/s with an average wind speed of less than 10 kmph is unfavourable for the dispersion of pollutants.

The bulletin also stated, “The contribution of biomass burning in PM2.5 concentration is likely to be approximately 30% on November 7 as winds are favourable for transportation of pollutants.”

Meanwhile, on Sunday, residents reported industrial and scrap waste being burnt at Sector 87.

Vikas Yadav, a resident of Sector 87 and member of Citizens for Clean Air, who noticed waste being burnt in the area said, “This is a plot almost 15 acres in size where waste is burnt regularly and I have been noticing it for the past four years. In the past two weeks, waste has been burnt on three different days here. The authorities concerned must intervene and find a solution to this issue as both residents and those who live as squatters in the area, are all being forced to breathe air with heavy toxins.”