Gurugram air quality stays ‘poor’, may deteriorate from today

This year, Gurugram recorded its cleanest post-Diwali day air quality, a day when the air usually plunges into the severe zone with rampant use of firecrackers coinciding with raging farm fires in Punjab and Haryana

Air quality in the city improved on Wednesday with faster surface winds helping in dispersal of pollutants, expert said.

Even though the ban on burning traditional crackers was flouted this year, meteorological conditions such as good wind speed and amenable direction ensured that there was no air emergency this year. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, Gurugram recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 244 (poor), a drop from Tuesday’s 292. An AQI between zero 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”.

This year, Gurugram recorded its cleanest post-Diwali day air quality, a day when the air usually plunges into the severe zone with rampant use of firecrackers coinciding with raging farm fires in Punjab and Haryana. Even though the ban on burning traditional crackers was flouted this year, meteorological conditions such as good wind speed and amenable direction ensured that there was no air emergency this year.

The air quality may deteriorate on Thursday, but it will stay in the poor zone, according to the forecast by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) on Wednesday. It added that for the next six days, the AQI may remain largely in the ‘very poor to poor’ category.

“The predominant surface wind is likely to be calm in the morning hours, coming from northwest/southeast direction a speed of 6-8 km/hour till at least Friday,” IITM said.

According to city-based environmentalists, the winds blowing over the regions was “uncharacteristic” for the current season, but it was keeping the air quality under check. “Good wind speed is being observed specially during day time, which clearing pollutants that are accumulated over night. But, with a change in the direction of the wind being expected in the next three to four days, the contribution of farm fires to pollutants in city air may go up,” said Sachin Panwar, an environmentalist.

Data from India Meteorological Department (IMD) showed that the city recorded a maximum temperature of 31.7 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 12.5 degrees Celsius.