With dip in mercury, Gurgaon air quality plunges to ‘severe’

Doctors have advised residents, especially children, elderly and asthma patients to stay indoors as pollutants have rose to dangerous levels

Air quality in Gurgaon slipped from very poor on Thursday to severe on Friday. Experts said a dip in temperature and low wind speed caused a rise in pollutants in the atmosphere.

PM2.5 was 420 mcpm on Friday, seven times the permissible limit of 60mcpm. (Parveen Kumar/HT PHOTO)

Particulate matter (PM) 2.5 was 420 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³) on Friday, up seven times from the permissible limit of 60µg/m³. It was recorded at 376µg/m³ on Thursday and 259 µg/m³ on Wednesday.

“The city is experiencing low temperature and wind speeds, as a result pollutants remain trapped in the atmosphere for longer periods and the PM2.5 level is high,” said Vijay Chowdhary, environmental engineer, Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB).

The minimum temperature recorded by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday was 3.5 degree Celsius and the maximum was 18 degree Celsius. Although there was a rise in temperature by 1.9 degree Celsius from Thursday, commuters and residents still had to face cold winds.

The city had a clear sky throughout the day, but the level of pollutants remained high. Carbon monoxide level was recorded at 28.50 micrograms per cubic metre (mg/m³), against the prescribed limit of 4 mg/m³.

The HSPCB said the situation might not change as the region is experiencing a cold spell and low wind speed.

The city does not have heavily polluting industrial units in Gurgaon or in nearby areas, but vehicular emissions are high. “Pollution from vehicular emissions and diesel-run generator sets are the major causes of air pollution in the city. Pollutants from vehicles are unable to disperse in the atmosphere (due to the cold), which makes the air unhealthy,” said Bhupinder Singh, regional officer, HSPCB, Gurgaon.