Gurugram’s air quality ‘poor’, light rain predicted

The city’s air quality deteriorated to settle in the ‘poor’ category of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)’s air quality index (AQI) bulletin on Sunday, with an index value of 246. This was up from the previous day’s ‘moderate’ reading when Gurugram had a value of 153 on the AQI bulletin.

Experts attributed the uptick to a reduction in wind speed, which fell to about 8kmph on Sunday (as opposed to between 15 to 20kmph the previous day). However, with the IMD predicting a slight increase in wind speed till Tuesday, air quality in Gurugram is expected to improve. As per the early air quality warning system for Delhi-NCR, “The air quality is likely to improve marginally and reach in the lower end of very poor category on January 27. The air quality is likely to improve further remain in the poor category on January 28.”

According to a CPCB forecast, however, Gurugram’s predicted AQI value between Monday and Wednesday ranges between 165 and 142 (in the ‘moderate’ category of the air quality index). “This may be due to the direction of the wind, which is expected to blow from the west, and will likely disperse some of the pollutants which accumulated on Sunday,” Sachin Panwar, a city-based air quality expert, said.

The maximum temperature on Sunday rose to 21.8 degrees Celsius from 21 degrees Celsius on Saturday, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The minimum temperature, too, rose marginally to record 7.3 degrees Celsius on Sunday from 7 degrees Celsius the previous day. Shallow fog was reported in the city on Sunday morning.

Light rain is predicted for three days starting Monday, as per IMD officials.

“It will be a generally cloudy sky with a few spells of rain/thundershowers. The day temperature could fall by two to three degrees as a result,” an IMD spokesperson said.

The minimum temperature is predicted to increase by around two degrees during the same period.