GURUGRAM: The city’s air quality index (AQI) deteriorated from ‘moderate’ the day before to ‘poor’ on Thursday. It was 246, up from 174 on Wednesday. According to the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), the AQI is likely to climb up and will stay in the ‘very poor’ category for the next two days. Winds with speeds ranging from 6kmph to 8kmph have brought pollutants from the northwest, resulting in the dip in air quality, they said. Only one of the city’s four air monitoring stations – Gwalpahari – had ‘moderate’ AQI at 145 on Thursday, while the remaining three had ‘poor’ air – Vikas Sadan (250), Sector 51 (284) and Teri Gram (262). Stubble burning emissions contributed 8% to the region’s PM2.5 on Thursday, compared to 5% on Wednesday, with Haryana reporting 35 farm fire incidents. Between September 15 and November 6, the state has seen 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 fires this year so far. “The strong upper-level wind flow (blowing from the northwest) has enhanced transport of pollutants, but the rate of inflow of pollutants is likely to be more than that of dispersion, resulting in accumulation and deterioration of AQI to the upper end of ‘very poor’ or lower end of ‘severe’ on November 11 and 12,” said Shubhansh Tiwari, a research associate at Amity Centre for Air Pollution Control. According to guidelines issued by the Central Pollution Control Board, when AQI is in the ‘poor’, breathing discomfort can be felt by most people 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’. At present, stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) has been implemented across Delhi-NCR, under which most private construction and demolition activities are banned. Brick kilns, hot mix plants and stone crushers not operating on clean fuels, apart from mining, are also outlawed. The city’s air quality deteriorated slightly, yet remained within the “poor” category on Thursday even as comparatively weaker winds slowed down the dispersion of pollutants. The AQI on Thursday was 295 against 260 a day earlier. On Tuesday night, strong easterly and southeasterly winds had pulled the region’s air quality out of the “very poor” category.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/gurugram-air-poor-again-may-worsen-in-next-two-days/articleshow/95437122.cms