Gurugram records worst air quality in NCR on Monday, despite early morning rain

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Gurugram recorded 50.5 mm of rainfall until 8.30am on Monday. The city’s minimum temperature dipped nearly 5°Celsius to 19.4°Celsius, while the maximum settled at 31.2°Celsius, IMD data shows

Gurugram recorded the poorest air quality across all of Delhi-NCR despite the rain on Monday morning, even as several internal lanes and arterial roads in the city experienced waterlogging, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) Sameer application.

A woman stands next to a stalled two-wheeler on a waterlogged stretch in Sector 10, Gurugram, on Monday. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The city logged an average air quality index (AQI) of 116 (moderate category) on Monday, which improvedfrom Sunday’s reading of 133.Faridabad followed with an AQI of 104, also in the “moderate” zone.

Delhi’s air improved to 83, marking its first “satisfactory” day in the month. Ghaziabad also recorded a “satisfactory” AQI of 75 (its first such reading in October), followed by Noida’s reading of 74, which was also in the “satisfactory” category.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Gurugram recorded 50.5 mm of rainfall until 8.30am on Monday. The city’s minimum temperature dipped nearly 5°Celsius to 19.4°Celsius, while the maximum settled at 31.2°Celsius, IMD data shows.

The Faridabad administration added that the district recorded 11 mm of rainfall.

Notably, Gurugram saw its cleanest air so far this month on Monday after 10 days of “moderate” and two days of “poor” air quality.

Navdeep Dahiya, a meteorologist, said suspended dust particles were among the key contributors to Gurugram’s poor air quality, with roadside dust, ongoing construction, and damaged roads adding to the particulate matter.

Residents said waterlogging persisted long after the rainfall in several parts of Gurugram, including Tulip Chowk in Sector 69, Sectors 10, 14 and 32, New Colony, and the Sector 12 bus stand road, highlighting persistent drainage issues across the city.

Sunil Sareen, resident of Sector 102A and co-convenor of the citizen-led platform Dwarka Expressway Gurugram Development Authority (DXPGDA), said: “The Sector 102/102A road, which was waterlogged even around 9:30 am, made navigation difficult. Within a few hours of rainfall, this was the status of a road which was built at a cost of over R14 crore,” he said.

A Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) official said they addressed waterlogging complaints by deploying pumps to drain accumulated water from affected areas to minimise inconvenience to residents.

The Gurugram district administration stated that the Gurugram tehsil recorded 40 mm of rainfall, followed by Kadipur and Harsaru sub-tehsils at 36 mm each. Wazirabad sub-tehsil also recorded 36 mm of rainfall, while Badshahpur sub-tehsil received 34 mm.

Meanwhile, Ghaziabad recorded 54.5 mm of rainfall, Delhi’s Safdarjung station recorded 41.6 mm, and Noida recorded 17.5 mm.