GURUGRAM: An increase in cases of stubble burning and low wind speed turned the air fouler across the National Capital Region, with the AQI level deteriorating from “poor” to “severe” in a matter of just two days.
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In Gurugram, three of four monitoring stations — Vikas Sadan, Gwalpahari and Sector 51 — showed the quality of air to be in the “severe” category as haze shrouded the city in the morning. The fourth one at Teri Gram did not have enough data to calculate the AQI.
This is the first time this season that Gurugram recorded “severe” AQI, prompting the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to appeal to government and private establishments to reduce the use of vehicles.
On Thursday, the overall AQI in Gurugram was recorded at 443. In the past two days, the air quality had improved from “very poor” to “poor”. The AQI was 296 on Wednesday, and 270 the previous day.
Officials in the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) said the air quality was likely to stay the same over the next few days as the wind speed was unlikely to improve. Asked about the deteriorating air quality, they said pollutants were not being able to get dispersed as the wind speed was extremely low.
“The situation is likely to deteriorate further in the coming days because of the dip in temperature and low wind pressure. The region is witnessing smog both in the morning and late evening hours. The AQI might stay in the severe category till the wind pressure is low,” said a senior official.
The low wind speed shot up pollutants dramatically. In Vikas Sadan area, the PM 2.5 level was recorded at 444 micrograms/m3 on Thursday compared to 298 micrograms/m3 on Wednesday. Similarly, in Gwalpahari, both PM 10 and PM 2.5 were at 415 micrograms/m3, which rose from 224 micrograms/m3 and 215 micrograms/m3 on Wednesday. In Sector 51, the level of PM 2.5 shot up to 473 micrograms/m3 from 365 micrograms/m3 on Wednesday. The permissible limit of PM 2.5 is 60 micrograms/m3 and for PM 10 it is 100 micrograms/m3. Last year, too, the AQI was in the “severe” category during this time of the year.
Officials also warned of garbage burning cases in the city. “Our teams have been conducting night patrolling to curb incidents of garbage burning,” said Shakti Singh, regional officer of HSPCB.
As the air quality turned severe, the CPCB directed all government and private establishments to reduce the use of vehicles by 30% and encouraging employees to work from home or sharing the mode of transport to work.
Although diesel gensets have been banned under GRAP measures, the Gurugram administration still needs to implement certain restrictions such as closing down brick kilns, hot mix plants, stone crushers or any other factory that pushes up pollution for the time being. It should also focus on mechanised cleaning of roads, sprinkling of water and intensifying public transport services.
The civic body should first identify stretches that generate more dust.
In Delhi, too, the AQI turned “severe”, clocking 450. Officials said if these levels persist for 48 hours, measures under GRAP would be introduced, including the odd-even road rationing scheme, stopping construction activities and a ban on entry of trucks into Delhi.