Air quality remains poor, faster winds predicted to clean air

The city’s air quality remained in the poor category on Saturday, recording 217 on the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) air quality index (AQI) bulletin

The city’s air quality remained in the poor category on Saturday, recording 217 on the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) air quality index (AQI) bulletin. This was a marginal improvement from Friday’s AQI of 263 that was also in the same category. Experts said that the air quality is likely to improve in the coming days as wind speed is likely to pick up.

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The level of particulate matter (PM) 2.5, the city’s primary pollutant, was 116.7 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³) on Saturday, as per the data recorded by the CPCB’s air quality monitor at Vikas Sadan in Sector 11. As per the early air quality warning system for Delhi-NCR, the air quality is likely to deteriorate marginally but remain in the poor category on Sunday and in the poor to lower range of very poor category on Monday. Subsequently, the air quality is likely to remain in the poor to moderate category over the next five days.

Sachin Panwar, a city-based air quality scientist, said, “The wind speed in places such as Noida, Ghaziabad is good in pockets. In the city, the wind speed will pick up in a day or two. We can expect relief through an improvement in wind conditions or a rain shower in the next two-three days.”

While the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) automatic weather station (AWS) for Gurugram did not record the minimum temperature on Saturday, the IMD’s AWS at the Palam observatory in Delhi recorded the day’s minimum temperature at 17.2 degrees Celsius. The city’s maximum temperature stood at 31.7 degrees Celsius. As per the IMD’s weekly forecast, the maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover around 31 degrees and 16 degrees Celsius, respectively, on Sunday.