Clear enough to drive in Gurgaon, but still hard to breathe

After a week of thick smog and toxic air quality, weather conditions improved in Gurgaon on Tuesday

After a week of thick smog and toxic air quality, weather conditions improved in Gurgaon on Tuesday. The air quality was recorded as ‘poor’ compared to ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ in the days after Diwali. The visibility was more than 500 metres for the first time in a week.

The drop in PM2.5 level and rise in minimum temperature has helped in dispersing pollutants and improving visibility. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

As per data from the Haryana Pollution Control Board, the average level of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) was 212 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³) on Tuesday compared to 467.78 µg/m³ on Monday and 680.42 µg/m³ on Sunday. The safe limit of PM2.5 is 60 µg/m³.

The dip in PM 2.5 level was attributed to a wind speed of 11.2 km/hour and a rise in minimum temperature to 18 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature was recorded at 16 degrees Celsius on Monday, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

There was sunshine throughout the day and traffic was smooth.

“The wind is blowing towards the west and it is ideal for the region. The condition will improve in the next 48 hours and pollutants will be dispersed. As there is an increase in the minimum temperature, the pollutants that were trapped in the air will be moving upwards,” an IMD official said.

However, the condition might worsen as the temperature dips, the official said.

An HSPCB official said the board is monitoring the level of pollutants every hour and trying to find a solution to the problem.

“The data is under scrutiny and soon, we will find the reasons and the way forward to deal with the toxic air quality,” Vijay Chowdhery, environmental engineer, HSPCB, said.