Gurgaon: The city’s air quality worsened sharply on Thursday, with its air quality index (AQI) rising to 318 from 279 the previous day, placing it in the ‘very poor’ category. All four monitoring stations reported ‘very poor’ readings, indicating that pollution was widespread across the city.Gwal Pahari recorded the highest AQI at 334, followed by Teri Gram at 320, Vikas Sadan at 314 and Sector-51 at 302, as per the AQI dashboard.Air quality in the ‘very poor’ category poses health risks, especially for children, the elderly and people with respiratory conditions. Prolonged exposure can cause breathing discomfort and respiratory illness.Winter conditions restricted the dispersion of pollutants and local factors such as road dust, heavy traffic and ongoing construction added to the pollution load.Residents in several parts of the city reported throat and eye irritation, while visibility remained slightly hazy through the morning. Fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, was the main pollutant, reflecting a typical winter build-up driven by local sources and unfavourable weather conditions.Officials said air quality was being monitored closely and advisories would be issued if conditions worsened.Delhi govt’s forecasting agency Decision Support System (DSS) also flagged unfavourable dispersion conditions over the next few days. The ventilation index is expected to remain below 6,000 m²/s on multiple days, with low wind speeds limiting the atmosphere’s ability to clear pollutants. Air quality is forecast to stay in the ‘very poor’ category from Jan 15 to Jan 17, with a possibility of slipping into the ‘severe’ category on Jan 18.According to CPCB guidelines, ‘moderate’ AQI can cause breathing discomfort for people with asthma and heart or lung disease, while ‘poor’ air quality can cause discomfort for most people on prolonged exposure. AQI levels between 0 and 50 are classified as ‘good’, 51 to 100 as ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 as ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 as ‘poor’, 301 to 400 as ‘very poor’, and 401 to 500 as ‘severe’.
