Gurugram: Marginal improvement in air quality, more respite expected over weekend

Air quality in Gurugram remained in the ‘very poor’ category for the fourth consecutive day on Friday, with the air quality index (AQI) at 367 on the Central Pollution

Air quality in Gurugram remained in the ‘very poor’ category for the fourth consecutive day on Friday, with the air quality index (AQI) at 367 on the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) bulletin. This was a slight improvement from the previous day’s AQI of 384, albeit in the same category.

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The level of particulate matter (PM) 2.5, the city’s primary pollutant, was 362.45µg/m³ on Friday, as per data recorded at the CPCB’s air quality monitor at Vikas Sadan in Sector 11. As per the CPCB’s classification, an AQI reading from 301 to 400 in categorised as ‘very poor’ and can lead to breathlessness and respiratory illnesses in cases of prolonged exposure.

Experts attributed the slight improvement to faster wind. According to the early air quality warning system for the National Capital Region (NCR), the air quality is likely to improve but remain in the lower end of the ‘very poor’ to ‘poor’ categories on the weekend.

Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) regional weather forecasting centre, said that air quality would improve on Saturday. “Wind speed picked up Friday due to which we have seen improvement in AQI. On Friday, wind speed was around 12-15kmph whereas calm winds had prevailed on Thursday. On Thursday it was less than 5kmph, which led to the accumulation of pollutants in the atmosphere,” said Srivastava.

“The wind speed will go beyond 15kmph on Saturday. We expect the air quality to remain better on Sunday as well,” he said, adding that AQI is expected to deteriorate from November 2 when wind speeds fall again.

On Friday, the city recorded a maximum temperature of 30.5 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature was recorded at 12 degrees Celsius. Both the maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to stay in a similar range, as per the IMD’s forecast. Clear skies will prevail till Monday, as per the IMD’s weekly forecast.