GURGAON: The city was blanketed in thick smog on a grey, brooding Wednesday that saw pollution levels reach nearly 14 times the safe standard. An overcast sky added to the general gloominess with visibility so poor that it completely engulfed the city's impressive skyline and buildings as little as 200 metres away went beyond a cloak of haze.
Concentration of particulate matter (PM) 2.5 touched the 800 mark in the afternoon, which was almost 14 times higher the national safe standard. The average 24-hour level of PM 2.5 (measured between 4pm on Tuesday and 4pm on Wednesday) was 423.62 micrograms per cubic metre (g/m³), still seven times higher than the safe standard of 60.
According to officials at the Met department, the situation is going to get worse in the coming days. "If it doesn't rain or wind speed doesn't increase, the situation is likely to get worse. Better sunshine can also make a difference. It is expected that sunshine will be a little better on Sunday onwards," said an official of Met department.
According to the data released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), concentration of PM2.5 has constantly increased since Diwali (October 31). While the 24-hour average concentration of PM2.5 was 212.96g/m³ on October 30 (from 2pm on October 29 to 2pm on October 30), it increased to 217.45g/m³ on October 31. The level further rose to 328.15g/m³ on November 1 and reached 381.50g/m³ on November 2. As per WHO, concentration of PM2.5 shouldn't be more than 60g/m³.
However, other air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and ozone remained below the prescribed limit.
While Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) blamed rise in air pollution in Delhi for conditions in Millennium City, experts said the authorities have not taken enough measures to deal with the problem, primarily by not being able to check stubble burning at farms.
"There are emergency measures which authorities should have taken after Gurgaon and its neighbouring cities reported an increase in concentration of PM2.5. These could have included closing down polluting industries for 15-20 days, reducing vehicular traffic in the city, making changes in school timings and issuing precautionary advice to children, the elderly and pregnant women," said Niranjan Raje, a former member of the expert appraisal committee at the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change, and a member of Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA).
"If you look at the average PM2.5 concentration in Gurgaon on October 30 and 31, it was below 250g/m³. However, the level was much higher in Delhi. The level is increasing in Gurgaon since October 31. It indicates that particulate matter has travelled from Delhi to Gurgaon," said an HSPCB official.
Refuting that claim, professor Sushil Dayal, a city-based environmental scientist, said, "Wind speed is already very low. It is unlikely that particulate matter could travel so easily. Like Delhi, Gurgaon too reported a rise in air pollution owing to burning of firecrackers, along with stubble burning."
