Mumbai Weather Update For March 18, 2026: City Experiences Clear Skies As AQI Improves, Yet Govandi Records 'Hazardous' Air Quality At 421

Mumbai: The city woke up to clear blue skies and relatively warm temperatures on Wednesday, March 18, as the overall air quality continued to show improvement compared to the past few months, offering a brief respite to residents.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Mumbai is likely to experience partly cloudy conditions through the day, with the possibility of thunder and lightning developing in isolated areas. While the weather department has forecast rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms across most parts of Maharashtra this week, the North Konkan belt, including Mumbai, Thane and Palghar,  is expected to remain largely unaffected. However, some peripheral impact of the broader weather system may still be felt in the city.

Temperatures in Mumbai are expected to range between 23°C and 33°C, slightly lower than the highs recorded in recent weeks. As of the morning, Colaba recorded 25.8°C, while Santa Cruz registered 24.4°C. In contrast, neighbouring regions reported relatively higher temperatures, with Thane at 34°C and Navi Mumbai at 27°C, both warmer than the city’s core readings.

On the air quality front, Mumbai recorded an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of 78, placing it in the ‘moderate’ category, as per AQI.in data. Over the past 24 hours, air quality levels have largely fluctuated between the ‘good’ and ‘moderate’ categories. The highest AQI recorded was 89 at 9 am on Tuesday, while the lowest dropped to 29 at 5 pm, indicating significant variation throughout the day.

Even at a regional level, several areas reported good air quality. Gamdevi Station 1 recorded the lowest AQI at 18, falling in the ‘good’ category. Other areas such as Sathathharatha Nagar (32), Green Hills (38), New Navy Nagar (43) and Bandra West (48) also reported ‘good’ air quality levels.

However, certain pockets continue to raise concern. Govandi remains a major outlier, recording a hazardous AQI of 421. Additionally, areas including Sunder Nagar (193), Rajiv Gandhi Nagar (163), RBI Staff Quarters (143) and Louis Wadi (130) reported ‘poor’ air quality, highlighting persistent localised pollution challenges.

As per standard air quality classifications, AQI values between 0 and 50 are considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘moderate’, 101 to 200 ‘poor’, 201 to 300 ‘unhealthy’ and levels above 300 are classified as ‘severe’ or ‘hazardous’.

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