GURUGRAM AIR REMAINS ‘POOR’ IN JANUARY

POLLUTION CHECK January records more ‘satisfactory’ air days; experts attribute relief to high no. of Western Disturbance

Although January 2020 recorded cleaner air than December 2019, Gurugram’s overall air quality remained ‘poor’.

GURUGRAM: Favourable meteorology helped Gurugram, which emerged as the most polluted city in the world in a 2019 survey by Greenpeace India, breathe cleaner air this January than it did a year ago. Data shows that January also recorded cleaner air than December. Despite the improvement, Gurugram’s overall air quality remained ‘poor’, as per the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) daily AQI bulletin, making experts call for concerted policy action to combat local sources of air pollution.

This January, the city saw two days of ‘severe’ air, three days of ‘very poor’ air, 10 days of ‘poor’, 12 days of ‘moderate’ and four days of ‘satisfactory’ air. All 31 days considered, Gurugram recorded an average value of 213 on the air quality index (AQI) for the month, down from December’s average of 265.

In January 2019, the city recorded an average monthly AQI of 257 (also in the ‘poor’ category). January 2019 also recorded only one day of ‘satisfactory’ air, and seven days of ‘moderate’ air, as opposed to 2020, when number of ‘satisfactory’ air days was four and 12 days of ‘moderate’ air.

The improvement of 52 index points between December 2019 (265) and January 2020 (213), experts said, can be attributed mainly to a large number of western disturbances, which brought rainfall and high-speed winds.

“This is reflected in the AQI data as well, which shows that January had less number of ‘very poor’ days than December, and more ‘moderate’ and ‘satisfactory’ air days,” said a senior scientist at the CPCB air quality lab.

“The CPCB data for January certainly shows some improvement over 2019, when conditions were drier, temperatures lower and wind speed more tame,” citybased air quality consultant

Sachin Panwar said.

On January 2, the HT had reported that despite perceptions of city having had ‘cleaner’ air during the ongoing winter, there was little data to support the claim. An analysis of the city’s daily AQI readings revealed that the pollution levels have remained more or less the same.

For example, while November 2018 recorded an average AQI of 283, November 2019 recorded an average 278. Even in December, the improvement was marginal, from 274 in 2018 to 265 in 2019.

Explaining these numbers, Panwar said, “In 2018, air quality had stabilised in the ‘very poor’ to ‘poor’ categories once temperatures began to fall. But this year, the pollution levels have fluctuated more. The highs were higher, while the lows, which create the impression of a cleaner period of air quality, were lower. Taken together though, the improvement isn’t remarkable even with favourable weather

conditions.”

Experts said the “marginal improvement” could become “significant” if the city adopted more stringent ways of checking local sources of air pollution— chiefly vehicular emissions and construction dust, exacerbated by a diminishing tree cover.

Panwar said even though the city breathed easier over the past month, stronger policy initiatives and their concerted implementation are imperative. “Better data and city-specific studies to identify the nature and sources of air pollution in Gurugram, and more stringent prevention and monitoring of polluting activities, are needed. As air improves with the recession of winter, authorities should not become lax on enforcement,” he said.

The HT has been consistently reporting on the need for more air quality monitoring stations across the city to ensure reliable data is collected for informed decision-making.