Gurugram: Air back in ‘very poor’ zone, likely to worsen further

GURUGRAM: The city’s air quality index (AQI) slipped to ‘very poor’ category on Friday due to the dip in temperature and low wind speed, which affected the dispersal of pollutants. The overall AQI was 311, compared to 292 (poor) the previous day.
According to experts, the AQI is likely to remain in the ‘very poor’ or upper end of ‘poor’ categories in the next three-four days because of strong thermal inversion. “The air quality has dipped because of a dip in temperature and low surface winds. There is strong thermal inversion. As a result, pollutants are getting accumulated, especially during the morning and evening hours, which may slightly improve during the day,” said Sachin Panwar, an independent air quality expert.
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Three of the city’s four monitoring stations — Vikas Sadan (329), Sector 51 (323) and Teri Gram (312) — recorded ‘very poor’ AQI, while it was ‘poor’ at Gwalpahari (294).
Delhi’s air quality continued to be ‘very poor’. On Friday, the city’s AQI was 352 compared with 368 the day earlier. Some areas, however, recorded ‘severe’ pollution levels during the daytime. Burari, Dwarka and Punjabi Bagh were among the worst polluted areas.
AQI is unlikely to improve over the next few days. “It may remain in the ‘very poor’ category from December 3 to 5. Meteorological conditions are likely to be highly unfavourable for dispersion of pollutants till December 4. The predominant surface wind is likely to be coming from the southeast/northwest direction for the next few days. Mainly clear sky and mist/shallow fog are expected during morning hours,” according to the air quality early warning system.
Friday’s minimum temperature was 10.1 degrees C, three notches above normal. It was 10.4 degrees Celsius the day before. The maximum temperature was 26 degrees C, a notch above normal, up from 24.9 degrees on Thursday. It will be mostly sunny on Saturday, with temperatures expected to hover around 11 and 25 degrees Celsius.