Mumbai breathing good quality air, thanks to speedy winds

The city has been witnessing good air since the onset of monsoon in June, as the Air Quality Index (AQI) has been low. In the month of July, the AQI mostly remained below 20, while August has been experiencing even better air days, with the AQI mostly remaining below 15.

The lower the AQI value, the cleaner the air, while a higher AQI indicates a greater level of air pollution and health concerns.

According to the data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), Mumbai on Sunday recorded an AQI of 14. Other cities like Delhi recorded an AQI of 27 while Pune and Ahmedabad had the same air quality index of 20.

On August 6, the city breathed an AQI of 11, which is just one unit above the lowest AQI ever recorded in the city. On the contrary, Mumbai recorded the year's worst AQI of 309 on May 20, which was worse than that of Delhi’s air quality, due to the repeated dust storms from northwest.

Basically, there are six AQI categories, starting from ‘good’ (0 to 50), ‘satisfactory’ (50 to 99), ‘moderate’ (100 to 199), ‘poor’ (200 to 299), ‘very poor’ (300 to 399) and ‘severe’ (400 to 500).

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) official Sushma Nair, good quality of air results from high speed winds, which the city is currently experiencing. These winds mostly blow during the monsoon season, and are also partly responsible for the rainfall.

Currently, the wind speed at the Mumbai coast is almost 60 kmph, leading to gusty winds, which will continue for the next 48 hours. These winds move the pollutants in the air away from the city, resulting in good air quality days.

The IMD has also given a green alert, meaning no rainfall, over the city till Tuesday, indicating pleasant weather with moderate rainfall.

On Sunday, Santacruz recorded the minimum temperature of 24.8 degrees Celsius and the maximum was 30.7 degrees Celsius, with 86 per cent relative humidity. Colaba experienced a minimum temperature of 25.2 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 29.4 degrees Celsius, with 84 per cent relative humidity.

Sunday AQI 14

August 6 Second lowest AQI of 11

May 20 Worst AQI of 309

Good AQI ranges from 0 to 50