Gurugram, Dec. 13 -- Even as air quality in Gurugram continued to worsen, with the AQI hovering around the upper-end of "poor" level on Friday, waste burning went on rampantly unchecked across multiple areas of the city. PM2.5 emerged as the dominant pollutant on Friday, from waste fires lit up at multiple spots along the Gurugram-Sohna road. At least eight small and large waste fires were spotted at multiple locations, including on vacant plots along the elevated carriageway, including one behind a fuel station-raising safety concerns-around 17 kilometers from the city centre. The waste burning went on for nearly another kilometre past the fuel station, passing through the toll plaza towards Sohna. Gurugram recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 286 on Friday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB's) daily bulletin. It has been steadily rising through the week, clocking respective readings of 268 and 276 over the past two days. Among the worst-hit stations on Friday were the Sector 51 one, where an AQI of 292 was recorded at 8pm. The stations at Vikas Sadan, with an AQI of 293, and Teri Gram, with an AQI of 285, also hovered around the fringes of "poor" and "very poor". The CPCB classifies air quality as "moderate" when the AQI is between 101 and 200, "poor" between 201 and 300, and "very poor" between 301 and 400. Beyond 400, air quality is termed "severe". Residents said that not only Friday, but multiple incidents of waste burning were noticed this week along Chauma Road near Sarai Alaward and on Bhagwan Mahaveer Marg in Sector 44. A resident, who stays near one such hot spot, said on condition of anonymity, "Instead of disposing their waste rightfully, some residents choose to burn it despite knowing that it could further deteriorate the ambient air quality of the neighbourhood." Ravinder Yadav, additional commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), said, "We have identified multiple hot spots in the city and our vigilance teams are conducting routine inspections, including imposing fines against those found burning the waste openly." Meanwhile, Gurugram recorded a minimum temperature 9.5degC and a maximum of 25.2degC on Friday....