No respite for Gurugram residents as dust storm continues to make air quality toxic

Gururgam: There seems to be no respite for the residents of Gurugram as dusty winds have resulted in the city's air being in the very poor category.

On Monday, the particulate levels of 2.5 microns in Gurugram was registered at 350 micrograms per cubic

metres.

This is way above the prescribed limits of 60 micrograms per cubic metre set by the world health organisation (WHO).

According to the met department, dust storm conditions are making the situation in the city worse.

"Dust particles from the Thar in Rajasthan are blowing towards this region. That is a major cause of continuous deterioration in air quality. Also, wind direction is west-south-west, leading to the transportation of more dust particles from the desert," said the Met official.

If weather conditions were not favourable for the air to breathe what made the matters worse was the dust and vehicular pollution in the city.

There was a high concentration of posonous gases like nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide that is mostly emitted by the vehicles.

In order to save the cost, there are a large number of vehicles especially the three-wheeler that use low quality fuel that further causes more harm to the people breathing the air.

Large scale construction activities and the receding green cover has resulted in dust being the major contributor to pollution in the Millennium city.

Even as strict orders have been issued by the National Green Tribunal to not allow the burning of the waste, the brazenness of not following the law can be seen even in the crowded area of National Highway-8.

"There is a need for sustained and committed effort in dealing with such a major challenge. Unfortunately, a few days of favourable weather conditions cannot help us escape from the big challenge that surrounds us."

"The citizens and the government must collaborate together to fight this menace. Unfortunately, even though the awareness about pollution has improved, the pro-activeness about it has not changed much," said Shweta Narang, a city resident.

Most of the citizens from the city have taken to digital platforms to highlight the challenges that are resulting in a spike of deadly air levels.