A day after the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) came into effect in the National Capital Region (NCR), several key stretches in Gurugram recorded a rise in air pollution levels, with air quality slipping into the “poor” category due to heavy vehicular congestion and dust from poorly maintained roads, officials and experts said on Wednesday.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Gurugram’s four continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations reported an average AQI reading of 241, up from 216 recorded on Tuesday. The Vikas Sadan station reported the worst air quality in the city, with PM2.5 levels touching 320 µg/m³ and both PM10 and CO levels exceeding safe limits. On Monday, the city’s AQI was “moderate” at 191.
District administration officials attributed the deterioration to massive congestion along the Delhi–Jaipur–Gurugram Expressway (NH-48), Shankar Chowk–Sirhol Toll Plaza, and the Gurugram–Faridabad Road. They said traffic jams, coupled with dust emissions and road damage, caused micro-level spikes in pollution.
An HT spot check found bumper-to-bumper traffic on a one-kilometre stretch of Old Railway Road near Rajiv Chowk underpass, where vehicles were stalled for nearly ten minutes during peak hours. Around 2pm, private regional air quality monitors reported AQI levels of 169 µg/m³ in nearby Civil Lines and Sector 14. At the same time, NH-48 recorded AQI 174.