Air quality back to poor in Faridabad

Bijendra Ahlawat

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, December 10

Air quality in this industrial hub has plummeted to hazardous level again, thanks to a dip in the temperatures and local sources of pollution.

The PM- 2.5 (Particulate Matter of the 2.5 micrograms) level dived to 448 on Monday evening after it opened at 442 in the morning. This is the first time in December when the air quality has hit the severe level. It had hit a maximum of 480 on November 8, a day after Diwali. On November 13, the PM 2.5 was 417 and it remained tucked between 262 and 370 till December 8. On December 9, it shot up to 399 at 4.10 pm and then to 420 at night.

The smoggy conditions that developed on Sunday night remained hogging the atmosphere of the city the whole day on Monday as sunshine remained very poor. The maximum temperature was recorded around 22°C on Monday.

“This was perhaps due to a sharp dip in day and night temperatures over the past few days and near absence of wind, resulting in hanging of pollutants in the air in the lower strata of the atmosphere,” said Vijay Chaudhary, Regional Officer, Pollution Control Board, here.

He said as the wind speed had been poor, the air quality too had turned poor. It is likely to improve with the speed of the wind, he said, adding that the officials of the department would hold a meeting to review the measures that could be put in place to contain the problem.

“The local sources of pollution that contribute to the air quality in winters are traffic, smoke from factories, dust from crushers or construction activity and burning of waste or garbage in the open,” said an official.

“Plying of a large number of outdated diesel vehicles has also been a major source of air pollution,” remarked SK Sharma, an official of the Road Safety Organisation.