AQI dips in Gurugram, but rain may help in coming days

GURUGRAM: Air quality in the city continued to deteriorate on Sunday but remained in the “very poor” category, with an average air quality index (AQI) recorded by the four monitoring stations at 332, up from 308 recorded a day back. Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) officials, however, expect some respite from Monday with a forecast of rainfall and good wind speed.
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On Sunday, there was a nip in the air as the city recorded minimum temperature of 24 degrees Celsius, allowing pollutants to gather close to the ground, especially with low wind speed (11 kmph). While temperature is likely to decline further over the next few days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast some rainfall activity and higher wind speed that may help disperse pollutants, experts said.
The Teri Gram station, meanwhile, recorded an AQI of 352, Sector 51 at 364 and Vikash Sadan and Gwalpahari each 331 on Sunday, which was a significant dip from the previous day. On Saturday, Teri Gram station recorded AQI at 298, Sector 51 at 342 and Vikash Sadan at 289, while it wasn’t recorded at Gwalpahari due to insufficient data.
This comes at a time when the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is yet to be implemented in the region. On Monday, Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and adjoining areas will hold a meeting with the states concerned to chalk out an action plan regarding the implementation of GRAP.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and pollution watchdog said that they were working on an action plan to mitigate air pollution in the city. “Our teams have been reporting nearly six to eight open garbage burning incidents in the city daily. This is a serious issue and we have informed the MCG about the same. Teams are already taking action, however, in several incidents when our team reaches the site, we fail to find any miscreants and thus we are not able to impose any penalty,” a senior HSPCB official said.