GURUGRAM: The rare fall in the city's pollution level two days ago proved to be short-lived, as air pollution levels soared to reach the highest in the country, on Friday and Saturday.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) for Gurgaon jumped from 105 on Thursday to 447 on Saturday. Reportedly, the sudden rise in the level of PM2.5 was responsible for the dwindling air quality. The level of PM2.5 increased from an average of 53.36 micrograms per cubic meter on Thursday to 397.54 micrograms per cubic meter and 191.54 micrograms per cubic meter on Friday and Saturday respectively.
The other cities with high pollution levels were Kanpur, Delhi and Jodhpur with AQI of 397, 383 and 361, respectively.
While experts blame rising dust pollution for the decline in air quality, pollution control board said that traffic congestion around VikasSadan (where air quality monitoring system has been installed) on Friday led to the sudden increase in the pollution levels.
Other factors cited include a decrease in the wind speed. "Wind speed was nearly 1.92 meter per second and above on Tuesday and Wednesday. It has come down to 1.07 meter per second. Even a minor decrease in the wind speed leads to accumulation of particulate matter (PM) in the lower atmosphere," said an official from Met department.
