Despite a complete ban on firecrackers and only green crackers being allowed, two Haryana districts – Gurugram and Faridabad – recorded ‘very poor’ air a day after Diwali.
On Tuesday morning, the Air Quality Index (AQI) of Ballabgarh, Gurugram, Faridabad and Charkhi Dadri was 323, 314, 312 and 302, respectively, all in the ‘very poor’ category.
However, at 4 pm on Tuesday, the air quality in all the four places improved with Gurugram registering an AQI at 292 and Charkhi Dadri 267. According to the figures of Central Pollution Control Board, the AQI of both Faridabad and Ballabgarh was reported at 289 at 4 pm.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.
On Tuesday morning, the AQI was ‘poor’ in Jind (296), Bhiwani (291) Manesar (284), Bahadurgarh (280), Kurukshetra (266) Hisar (251), Fatehabad (244), Kaithal (241), Ambala (238), Karnal (231) and Yamunanagar (203). The AQI of Panchkula (133), Palwal (154), Rohtak (162), Narnaul (181), Sirsa (88) and Panipat (192) were in the “moderate” category.
The figures show that the air quality has improved in many towns in Haryana especially in Gurugram and Faridabad this year a day after Diwali compared to 2021 and 2020. While this year, the air quality in major cities of Haryana remained in the ‘very poor’ category, in 2021 and 2020, the AQI was severe.
Last year a day after Diwali, Gurugram saw an AQI of 470, followed by Faridabad at 452, Hisar at 425 and Jind at 402.
In 2020, the air quality post Diwali was also severe with Jind recording the worst air at 457, followed by Fatehabad at 446, Hisar at 441 and Gurugram at 425.
Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) chairman P Raghavendra Rao said that this welcome change could be attributed to both their efforts and cooperation of all stakeholders concerned. “There is still scope for further improvement of AQI,” he added.
Last year a ban was imposed on sale of firecrackers in 14 NCR districts of the total 22 in Haryana and this year only green crackers were allowed during the festive season. This year too, strictly adhering to the orders of the Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal (NGT) to control air pollution in the NCR region, HSPCB had prohibited the manufacturing, sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers except for green crackers.
