Air quality deteriorates to ‘very poor’ category in Gurugram

The air quality in Gurugram deteriorated and entered the ‘very poor’ category on Tuesday. Air quality monitoring agencies said that it is expected to deteriorate further as calm wind speed and low temperature slow down the dispersal of pollutants which causes AQI to rise.

The weather in the city is also likely to get colder as temperatures are expected to dip further. ‘Dense’ to ‘very dense’ fog is expected in the next two to three days, the weather department added.

The average 24-hour air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 355 on Tuesday, while it was 266 on Monday.

According to a forecast by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar), low surface wind speed and temperature are likely to worsen the air quality for the next three days. “Air quality is likely to deteriorate, but will remain within the ‘very poor’ category over Delhi-NCR for the next three days due to low temperature (helps in the accumulation of pollutants) and moderate surface wind (enhances dispersion of pollutants),” it said.

Overall, the air quality is likely to remain in the ‘very poor’ category for the next six to seven days over Delhi NCR, said the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.

On Tuesday, the maximum temperature in the city was recorded at 15.4 degrees Celsius, while the minimum was at 8.7 degrees Celsius. Earlier on Monday, the city recorded a maximum temperature at 16.3 degrees Celsius, while the minimum was 5.8 degrees Celsius.

Manmohan Singh, director of the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Chandigarh centre said that ‘dense’ to ‘very dense’ fog and cold day conditions are likely to prevail over most parts of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh for the next four to five days. “The cold wave conditions and dense fog will continue over south Haryana as well but the weather will remain dry. The minimum temperature is likely to drop further,” he said.

“People must drive with caution and avoid going out in the early morning hours as the temperatures will be low and dense fog is expected,” Singh added.