Air in Gurugram ‘poor’ again, likely to worsen in next two days Gurgaon news | Tech Reddy

GURUGRAM: The city’s air quality index (AQI) went down to ‘poor’ on Thursday from ‘moderate’ the previous day. It was 246, up from 174 on Wednesday. According to the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), the AQI is likely to rise and remain in the ‘very bad’ category for the next two days. Winds of 6kmph to 8kmph brought pollutants from the north-west, thereby reducing air quality, they said.
Only one of the city’s four air monitoring stations – Goalpahari – had ‘moderate’ AQI at 145 on Thursday, while the other three had ‘poor’ air – Vikas Sadan (250), Sector 51 (284) and Teri Gram (262).
Emissions from straw burning Haryana reported 35 farm fires, contributing 8% to the region’s PM2.5 on Thursday, compared to 5% on Wednesday. Between September 15 and November 6, the state saw a total of 2,728 farm fires. Meanwhile, 1,893 fires were recorded in Punjab on Thursday. It has recorded a total of 36,761 fire incidents this year so far.

“Stronger upper-level winds (flowing from the northwest) enhance transport of pollutants, but pollutant flux rates are likely to exceed dispersion, resulting in ‘accumulation and decay of AQI at its upper end’ on November 11 and 12 very poor’ or ‘ lower end of ‘severe’,” said Subhash Tiwari, a research associate at the Amity Center for Air Pollution Control.
According to the guidelines issued by the Central Pollution Control Board, when the AQI is ‘poor’, most people may experience shortness of breath on prolonged exposure. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’ and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.
Currently, Phase 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) has been implemented across Delhi-NCR, under which most private construction and demolition activities have been banned. Brick kilns, hot mix plants and stone crushers that do not run on clean fuels, besides mining, are also illegal.
The city’s air quality worsened slightly, still remaining in the “poor” category on Thursday even as relatively weak winds reduced the dispersion of pollutants. AQI on Thursday was 295 against 260 a day earlier. On Tuesday night, strong easterly and southeasterly winds took the region’s air quality beyond the “very poor” category.