Gurgaon: High air pollution levels in the city have been generally associated with winters. But of late, the air quality continues to be poor even during summer - so much so that PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels, the markers of air quality index, have breached the 200 mark in the past two weeks.
According to data released by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), PM2.5 that generally stays below 119 micrograms per cubic metre in summers touched 230.1 mark on May 27 and 221.82 mark on June 7. On Friday too, it was 196.71, higher than the usual.
Similar trend was reported in the concentration of PM10. While it usually ranges between 60 and 140 micrograms per cubic metre, PM 10 reached 230 micrograms per cubic metre on May 27. The board hasn't released PM10 data for June yet.
During May-June last year, the highest level of PM 10 was around 175, while that of PM 2.5 was nearly 150.
The safe threshold for PM 10 is 100 g/m3 and 60 g/m3 for PM 2.5, according to the World Health Organisation's benchmark and the national safe standard.
As air quality index increases, people are likely to experience severe health effects. PM 2.5 levels are considered a serious health threat since these are ultra-fine pollution particles that can get lodged in the lungs and reduce their capacity over time. They are linked to cardiac conditions like strokes and heart rhythm disorders.
Experts attribute the unusually high levels of pollution to violation of dust pollution norms by developers in the city. "The city is witnessing dust storm almost every evening. The atmosphere only has certain capacity to hold dust. We can't ignore the fact that dust pollution norms are not followed by developers," said NiranjanRaje, a Gurgaonite who was a former member of the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA).
According to the guidelines of the National Green Tribunal, it is mandatory for construction companies to regularly sprinkle water on sand and gravel to control dust rising from construction sites. Also, construction sites and vehicle transporting construction material should be covered properly.
"If you look at the pollution data from May 15 to June 10, there has been a huge difference between minimum and maximum level of both PM2.5 and PM10. It definitely calls for an immediate action by authorities to control dust pollution," said Debjani Ghosh, a city-based environmentalist.
