Gurugram’s air quality worsens, light rain likely next week

An IMD official said that there were chances of light to moderate showers between January 5 and 6 due to the prevalent western disturbances blowing over north-west India, which would purify the air.

The air quality of Gurugram worsened on Wednesday, with a reading of 458 (‘severe’) on the air quality index (AQI), a dip from 394 (‘very poor’) on Tuesday, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. However, there are chances of light to moderate showers in the city at the weekend which will purify the air.

Gurugram’s air quality is expected to become better next week as there are chances of light to moderate showers on January 5 and 6. (Yogendra Kumar/HT  File)

The level of finer particulate matter (PM2.5), the primary pollutant, reached 505ug/m3, according to the reading from the city’s AQI monitor at Vikas Sadan. The second monitor in Gwal Pahari did not record sufficient data on Wednesday.

Officials said that Wednesday’s dip in air quality was due to extremely low wind-speed, which was less than 2kmph in Gurugram and less than 5kmph in Delhi. “No long-range transport of dust is being observed right now,” said a member of the CPCB’s air quality lab, adding that this would cause pollution levels to go up not just in Gurugram but across the National Capital Region. Delhi, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad also recorded ‘severe’ quality air on Wednesday.

Another reason for the dip, according to D Saha, a scientist formerly associated with the CPCB’s air quality lab, is the increase in vehicular traffic across the NCR after a long holiday. “Increased vehicular count on the roads means an increase in pollution levels from local sources, which cannot be dispersed due to the slow wind,” he said.

In Gurugram, the minimum temperature rose from 2.2 degrees on Tuesday to 6 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. While such increases usually cause pollutants to settle at higher mixing heights, the influence of local pollutants masked the difference caused by the rise in temperature, Saha added. The minimum temperature is expected to touch 8 degrees Celsius by January 6, according to the India Meteorological Department.

Air quality is likely to improve on Thursday, with IMD predicting westerly winds of up to 10kmph. “Gurugram should have shallow to moderate fog in the morning and a clear or partly cloudy sky after,” said an IMD official, who also said that there were chances of light to moderate showers between January 5 and 6 due to the prevalent western disturbances blowing over north-west India, which would further purify the air.