Air quality marginally better, but to remain ‘very poor’ in coming days

Air quality experts said though pollution has reduced slightly on Wednesday, the pollution problem is going to persist as stubble fires have increased. The dip in mercury will also exacerbate the pollution in the coming days, they said

The air quality in the city improved marginally on Wednesday due to an increase in the wind speed, which picked up around 11am and helped disperse pollutants. The 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) in Gurugram on Wednesday was 310, an improvement from the 390 recorded on Tuesday.

The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in its forecast said that overall air quality in Delhi-NCR is likely to remain in the ”very poor” to ”severe” category on Thursday, and in ”very poor” category on Friday. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

Air quality experts said though pollution has reduced slightly on Wednesday, the pollution problem is going to persist as stubble fires have increased. The dip in mercury will also exacerbate the pollution in the coming days, they said.

The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in its forecast said that overall air quality in Delhi-NCR is likely to remain in the ”very poor” to ”severe” category on Thursday, and in ”very poor” category on Friday.

For the subsequent six days, the air quality is likely to remain between ”very poor” and ”poor”, it said.

Sachin Panwar, a city-based air quality expert, said there was dispersion of pollutants during the day as wind speed picked after 11am. “The day was also sunny and it also helped in reducing the pollution. The problem is that fire incidents in Punjab are going to rise and there is a buildup of pollutants in the NCR and this could lead to an increase in pollution levels in the coming days,” he said.

The system of air quality and weather forecasting and research (Safar) said an increase in wind speed could help in dispersing pollutants after two to three days.

The pollution control department on Wednesday said they are monitoring the construction sites closely and ensuring that dust causing activities are not carried out. Meanwhile, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) on Wednesday issued 26 fines, amounting to ₹1.23 lakh, for different violations.

MCG spokesperson SS Rohilla said 12 fines were issued for carrying out construction activities, while seven were issued for uncovered materials and the remaining for burning coal in tandoors. “Action is being taken against violators. We are also sprinkling water on the roads and all dust hot spots,” he said.

Sandeep Singh, a regional pollution officer at the Haryana State Pollution Control Board, said their teams are checking construction sites to prevent any violation of the graded response action plan (Grap) directions. “We are not allowing work at construction sites. An inspection was also carried out in the crusher zone and all crushers were found to be non-operational. We are also keeping a vigil on industrial areas to curb violations,” he said.