Air quality in the city remains in poor category for third day, likely to deteriorate further

Gurugram: Air quality in the city remained in the poor category for the third consecutive day with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 251 on Sunday

Gurugram: Air quality in the city remained in the poor category for the third consecutive day with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 251 on Sunday. Gurugram recorded an AQI of 206 on Saturday, and 242 on Friday. The highest reading in the city on Sunday was in Sector 51 where the monitor recorded an AQI of 299. Low wind speeds, change in wind direction and an increase in stubble burning have resulted in increased pollution, air quality experts said. Civic agencies said that they are keeping a check on construction sites and industrial areas to ensure there are no violations.

Air quality in the city remains in poor category for third day, likely to deteriorate further

According to a warning by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), air quality is likely to move to the ‘very poor’ category from Monday after the city celebrates Diwali. The IITM forecast said that air quality is likely to remain at the lower end of the ‘very poor’ category on Monday and Tuesday. “The air quality is likely to improve but will still remain at the lower end of the very poor category on Wednesday. The AQI on the subsequent six days is likely to remain between the ‘very poor’ and ‘poor’ category,” it said.

The IITM further said that the predominant surface wind in Delhi NCR on Sunday arrived from the north and the average wind speed was 5 kmph. The wind speed is likely to remain between 4 kmph to 12 kmph with mostly clear skies in the coming days. The Teri Gram monitoring station recorded AQI of 279 on Sunday, while an AQI of 176 was recorded at Vikas Sadan. No data was recorded at the Gwal Pahari monitoring station. The IITM also said that a low ventilation index, coupled with average wind speeds of less than 10 kmph is unfavourable for the dispersion of pollutants.

A state pollution control official said that low wind speeds are not aiding in the dispersal of pollutants which are persisting in the lower atmosphere for longer periods of time. “We are keeping a close watch on industrial areas to ensure clean fuel is used and diesel generators are not operated,” he said. Civic agencies are also sprinkling water in dust-prone areas, he added.

Stage two of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) has been implemented in the city in accordance with directions issued by the Centre for Air Quality Management (CAQM). According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Chandigarh, Gurugram recorded a maximum temperature of 32 degrees Celsius on Sunday, with a minimum of 25 degrees. It also said that dry weather will prevail over the area in the coming days.