Gurgaon: The air quality in the city remained in the "poor" category on Wednesday, even as it was an improvement over the "very poor" reported earlier this month.
The air quality index (
AQI) was at 263 while the PM2.5 level hovered between 120g/m³ and 130g/m³ in the day.
The data available with the authorities suggests that the average PM2.5 level decreased to 124g/m³ in the day, from 125.58g/m³ on Tuesday and 225.29g/m³ on Monday. The air quality index, however, recorded a marked increase from 135.29 on Tuesday, indicating deterioration, due to other polluting factors.
According to officials at the state pollution control board, the air pollution level in Gurgaon was still better than that in other cities of the
NCR. Delhi reported AQI at 347 while Noida and Faridabad recorded 329 and 351 — all in the "very poor" category. Ghaziabad, on the other hand, saw AQI at 434, which is considered "severe".
Through the first week of January, the AQI in Gurgaon remained "very poor", that is above the 300 mark.
HSPCB officials said the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to tackle the poor air was already in place in the city. "The increase in moisture, especially during the morning hours owing to fog, is not allowing the particulate matters to disperse, resulting in the poor air. On our part, we are regularly conducting inspections of construction sites while civic authorities have been asked to check waste burning and dumping across the city," said an HSPCB official.
As per the IMD forecast, the situation is expected to improve in coming days. "Winds from the north and northwestern parts of the country have made the situation a little better. The wind speed has also increased. Therefore, we expect the situation to become better within a few days. However, if the temperature drops, it may lead to adverse conditions," said a Met official.
The maximum temperature on Wednesday was 24 degrees Celsius while the minimum was 9 degrees Celsius. The wind speed was recorded at 10km/hour in Gurgaon.
