Gurugram more polluted than Manesar this winter

The neighbouring industrial township of Manesar, despite having a heavy presence of factories and other industries, has been recording cleaner air than Gurugram

The neighbouring industrial township of Manesar, despite having a heavy presence of factories and other industries, has been recording cleaner air than Gurugram this winter, as per official data recorded by the Central Pollution Control Board in its daily air quality index (AQI) bulletins.

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The difference in air quality between the two cities has become more pronounced this month. While Gurugram has seen just two days of moderate air in December so far, Manesar has recorded seven days of moderate air and one day of satisfactory air, which Gurugram had none of.

Manesar’s average daily AQI for December up to Wednesday comes to 239, indicating poor quality air, while the same for Gurugram comes to 279, also in the poor category, but a full 40 AQI points higher. Experts speculated that this discrepancy is due to favourable meteorology, which may be helping disperse pollutants away from Manesar and toward Gurugram, under the influence of prevailing northwesterly winds.

These averages, however, do not capture the daily differences in air quality between the two cities. On any given day going back to October 1, Gurugram’s AQI is 30 to 50 points more than Manesar’s. In the past three months, there have only been 10 days when Manesar had worse air than Gurugam, as per the CPCB data.

On December 9, Gurugram’s AQI was recorded at 296 (poor), while Manesar’s was 311 (very poor). On December 11, while Gurugram’s AQI was 256, Manesar’s was 288. Similarly, a change in wind direction was also observed on November 31 and December 1, and subsequently, Manesar had recorded worse air than Gurugram.

Sachin Panwar, a city-based independent air quality scientist, said, “There are multiple factors at play here, and understanding them may be able to help plan local strategies to mitigate air pollution in both locations. The pattern that we are seeing this winter is that Manesar is the least polluted on a majority of days, followed by Gurugram, then Delhi, and then Noida and Ghaziabad. It will take a dedicated study to provide evidence for this claim, but it’s very likely that northwesterly winds are transporting pollutants from the east to the west. Manesar and Gurugram are benefiting from their favourable positions.”

Moreover, experts and officials pointed out that Manesar is a less dense urban agglomeration then Gurugram, allowing pollutants to be easily dispersed.

Kuldeep Singh, regional officer, Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), also said that Manesar may be at an advantage due to its proximity to the Aravalli mountain range, which acts as a pollution sink.

“During summer months, Manesar typically records higher AQIs than Gurugram due to presence of orange and red category industries, which are highly polluting. Then, in winter months, Gurugram becomes more polluted. A source apportionment study for the region has been in the pipeline for some time. Once completed, it will give us a clearer explanation for these differences,” Singh said.