GURUGRAM: At 71, the city recorded a ‘satisfactory’ air quality index (AQI) on Sunday after 13 days. June 19 was the last time the AQI was below 100 this year. It was 86 on that day. Prior to that, the AQI was ‘satisfactory’ on May 24 and January 9. So far this year, the city has witnessed only four ‘satisfactory’ days and is yet to witness a ‘good’ air day.

According to air quality experts, the severe winds on Sunday cleaned up pollutants from the atmosphere, which improved the AQI. On Saturday, the AQI was 191, in the ‘moderate’ category.
According to the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), the changes in wind speed and weather conditions improved the air quality. “AQI improved on Sunday owing to the wind speed and rain that the city witnessed for the last two days,” said an official from HSPCB.
On Sunday, the wind speed was at 8 km/hour. It was at 2 km/hour on Saturday. The city also witnessed light drizzle on Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, the city recorded a minimum of 25.5 and maximum of 34.9 degrees Celsius on Sunday. According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city may receive scattered rain in the next two days and heavy rain on July 6.
On Sunday, the AQI was 80 at Gwal Pahari, 57 at Sector 51, 79 at the Teri Gram station. Data at Vikas Sadan was insufficient for AQI calculations.
Experts said less rainfall than previous years and severe heat waves impacted the AQI this year, adding that civic bodies must take pollution control measures throughout the year to ensure ‘satisfactory’ air quality.
“During summer and monsoon, open burning of solid wastes emits pollutants, which impact air quality. Construction dust is another major source of air pollution in Gurugram . We cannot depend on meteorological conditions for better AQI, we need to have a system to control the pollution levels throughout the year,” said Shubhansh Tiwari, a research associate at Amity Centre for Air Pollution Control.



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