Mumbai Overtakes Delhi In Air Pollution With AQI At 211, While Capital Improves To 185

In a surprising turn of events, Mumbai recorded a worse overall Air Quality Index (AQI) than Delhi on Friday evening, even as the national capital witnessed a significant improvement in air quality over the past 24 hours.

According to data from AQI.in, at 5 pm on January 30, Mumbai’s overall AQI stood at 211, placing it in the ‘Unhealthy’ category. Delhi, meanwhile, recorded an overall AQI of 185, categorised as ‘Poor’, a level below Mumbai on the air quality scale.

The contrast is particularly striking given the conditions reported earlier. At 5 am on Friday, Delhi’s AQI was at a hazardous 377, falling under the ‘Severe’ category, while Mumbai had reported an AQI of 274, classified as ‘Unhealthy’. Over the last 12 hours, Delhi saw a steep decline in pollution levels, slipping from ‘Severe’ to ‘Poor’. Mumbai, however, continued to experience fluctuations, oscillating between ‘Unhealthy’ and ‘Severe’ levels before settling in the ‘Poor’ category.

The difference in overall AQI between the two metros can be attributed to regional air quality patterns. In Delhi, five monitoring stations reported ‘Moderate’ air quality levels. These include Pandav Nagar (60), Dera Village (80), South Extension II (83), Pocket 1 (85) and Shyam Vihar Line (85).

Mumbai, in contrast, saw only one monitoring station, Gamdevi Station 1, recording ‘Moderate’ air quality, with an AQI of 57. None of the monitoring stations in either city reported air quality in the ‘Good’ category.
What’s Driving Mumbai’s Rising Pollution

Reason For This Contrast

High emission activities such as vehicular exhaust and industrial output remain common contributors to elevated AQI levels in both cities. However, Mumbai’s air quality has come under additional pressure due to intensified construction activity across the city.

Ongoing infrastructure projects, including multiple metro corridors, flyovers, road widening works and the coastal road project, have significantly increased dust levels in the air. These are further compounded by large-scale private real estate development, which continues across several parts of the city.

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