Air quality improves to ‘moderate’ in Gurugram

Gurugram: The air quality in Gurugram improved considerably and was in the ‘moderate’ category on Monday

Gurugram: The air quality in Gurugram improved considerably and was in the ‘moderate’ category on Monday. The air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 127 and experts said that the reasons for the reduced pollution across the Delhi-NCR, including Gurugram, are relatively higher wind speed and higher day temperature, helping in the dissipation of pollutants.

Gurugram, India-December 12: Commuters are seen wearing warm clothes on a cold winter morning at Sohna chowk near Sadar Bazar, in Gurugram, India, on Monday, 12 December 2022. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)

The last time the air quality in the city was in the ‘moderate’ category was on November 7, when the AQI was recorded at 174.

The System for Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar) said that the AQI in the Delhi-NCR is likely to remain within the ‘moderate’ or ‘lower end of poor’ category for the next three days due to moderate surface wind speed. Strong northwesterly at 700 metres to 800 metres are likely to disperse pollutants.

Sachin Panwar, a city-based air quality expert said that heavy cyclonic activity witnessed in southern India from December 4 to December 10, when strong wind were witnessed along the coast, helped in clearing pollutants over the entire Ganga basin in north and central India. “The cyclonic activity helped in clearing the skies and dissipation of pollutants over north and central India. It has had a positive impact on the air quality over the Delhi-NCR and has helped in improving the AQI in the last three to four days. The sunny afternoons being witnessed in Gurugram have also helped in the dissipation of pollutants,” he said.

Gurugram recorded maximum temperature at 25.1 degrees Celsius and a minimum temperature of 10.4 degrees Celsius on Monday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) station in Chandigarh in its forecast said that the weather is likely to remain dry in the next five days with shallow to moderate fog likely to be witnessed in isolated areas.

The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in its forecast said that relatively stronger wind and better ventilation conditions are likely to prevail in the coming few days and the air quality is likely to improve further but remain in the ‘poor’ category on Tuesday and Wednesday.