Gurgaon records cleanest air in five months, AQI turns ‘satisfactory’

GURGAON: The city recorded its cleanest day in 162 days on Friday, with the air quality index (AQI) dropping to 98 and entering the ‘satisfactory’ category for the first time since Oct 9 last year, when the AQI stood at 69.The day started with AQI at 115, in the ‘moderate’ category, but favourable weather conditions helped disperse the pollutants and bring the air quality up by the evening.Station-wise data showed variation across the city. NISE Gwal Pahari recorded an AQI of 67 and Vikas Sadan logged 92, both in the ‘satisfactory’ range, while Sector 51 recorded an AQI of 135 in the ‘moderate’ category.The improvement comes after a prolonged winter spell marked by sustained high pollution levels. The lowest air quality in these months was recorded on Jan 20, when the AQI touched 394.AQI began deteriorating after the first week of Oct. By Oct 21, PM2.5 levels surged to 370, pushing the city into the ‘very poor’ category.In Nov, the condition worsened further and AQI remained above 250 on most days of the month. On Nov 2 and Nov 11, pollution peaked for the month with AQIs of 357 and 378, respectively.The trend continued through Dec, with AQI largely above 260 and multiple spikes pushing the air in the ‘severe’ category, including an AQI of 322 on Dec 13, 345 on Dec 15 and 364 on Dec 23.Jan emerged as the most polluted month of the season, with several consecutive days recording AQI levels above 350 and multiple peaks in the 370–390 range. Feb brought only marginal improvement, with air quality largely oscillating between the ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ categories, barring a brief dip to 148 on Feb 19.March saw fluctuating conditions before easing in the latter half of the month. The city recorded several days with AQI above 300 — 322 on March 7, 307 on March 10, 304 on March 11 and 301 on March 12 — before readings dropped to 129 on March 16 and 154 on March 19, setting the stage for Thursday’s sharper improvement.Officials attributed the drop in pollution levels to recent rainfall and gusty winds that helped flush out accumulated pollutants from the air.Experts, however, cautioned against viewing the improvement as a long-term shift. “This improvement is largely driven by favourable meteorological conditions such as rain and strong winds, which help disperse pollutants,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment.“Unless emission sources are consistently controlled, air quality is likely to deteriorate again once weather conditions turn stagnant,” she added.