Gurgaon: The city continued to enjoy relatively clean air for the second consecutive day on Saturday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) remaining in the “satisfactory” category, largely due to rainfall that has made October unusually wet. However, the respite is likely to be short-lived, with drier weather and falling temperatures expected to push the AQI into the moderate category on Sunday and poor from Monday.The city’s AQI was recorded at 88 on Saturday, up from 69 on Friday. All four monitoring stations reported satisfactory readings, with Gwal Pahari and Vikas Sadan recording an AQI of 71 each, followed by Sector 51 at 93 and Teri Gram at 97.This was the third day this month when the city’s AQI remained in the satisfactory category. In October last year, Gurgaon recorded five such days, with the lowest AQI at 58. In 2024, there were four satisfactory days, with the lowest reading at 59, while October 2023 saw only one such day, when the AQI stood at 97.Despite the favourable overall AQI, particulate matter concentrations at individual monitoring stations remained considerably high. Gwal Pahari recorded a PM2.5 concentration of 119 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³), nearly eight times the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended safe limit of 15 µg/m³. Teri Gram recorded 278 µg/m³, Sector 51 247 µg/m³ and Vikas Sadan 61 µg/m³.PM10 levels were also elevated across all four stations. Sector 51 recorded the highest concentration at 387 µg/m³, followed by Teri Gram at 185 µg/m³, Vikas Sadan at 130 µg/m³ and Gwal Pahari at 124 µg/m³. All readings exceeded the WHO’s recommended threshold of 45 µg/m³. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) prescribes annual limits of 60 µg/m³ for PM2.5 and 100 µg/m³ for PM10.According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), surface winds on Sunday are likely to blow predominantly from the northwest, reaching speeds of up to 15 kmph.“The maximum mixing depth is likely to be 1,500 metres, and the ventilation index is likely to be 9,000 m²/s on Sunday. A ventilation index below 6,000 m²/s, with an average wind speed under 10 kmph, is considered unfavourable for the dispersion of pollutants,” it stated.SAFAR forecast moderate air quality for Sunday, with the AQI likely to deteriorate to the poor category from Monday.The rainfall has made this one of the wettest Octobers Gurgaon has recorded in recent years. The city received 67.9 mm of rainfall this month, 680% above its normal October precipitation of 8.7 mm. This is the second-highest October rainfall in a decade, after 80.9 mm recorded in 2022.This year’s rainfall is more than double the 30.9 mm recorded in October 2025 and over 10 times the 6.7 mm received in 2023. The city recorded 28.8 mm in 2021, while October 2024 remained completely dry.Across Haryana, the average rainfall stood at 34.6 mm in October, 268% above the normal 9.4 mm. This was the third-highest October rainfall in the state in 25 years, after 52.5 mm in 2004 and 35.9 mm in 2022.Meanwhile, maximum temperatures rose sharply on Saturday as skies cleared and sunshine returned. NorthCap University recorded a maximum of 29°C, up 8.5 degrees from the previous day. Gurgaon AWS recorded 26.9°C, an increase of 6.9 degrees, while Gurgaon KVK logged 27.2°C.Minimum temperatures at Gurgaon AWS and NorthCap University stood at 14.9°C and 17.1°C, compared with 17.2°C and 17.8°C, respectively, on Friday. Gurgaon KVK recorded a minimum of 19.1°C, up from 17.9°C.NorthCap University received 3 mm of rainfall, while Gurgaon AWS recorded 2 mm till 8.30 am on Saturday.
