Mumbai: After months of smoggy skies and rising pollution levels, Mumbaikars finally woke up to a cleaner horizon, as the city AQI dipped significantly. Social media is flooded with especially X (formally twiiter) is flooded with reactions with many people sharing images of clear blue skies and a sweeping view of the skyline.
One user shares an image of the city at 7am, saying 'capturing the cautious optimism felt across the city. The comment reflected how residents are now closely tracking daily air quality updates, almost treating a “good AQI day” as a rare event worth noting.
Another post from the suburbs wanting to join in the trend, showed a bright blue sky with a lone crow perched dramatically, jokingly captioned as a “paid actor” amid the sudden improvement in air quality.
Another post circulating online highlighted favourable changes, stating the AQI levels were expected to dip below 50, and even below 30 in parts of South Mumbai. Night temperatures were forecast to fall below 20°C, while maximum temperatures were predicted to remain under 29°C, marking a notable drop of over seven degrees.
One netizen shared a post stated that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had halted over 1,000 construction sites for allegedly violating dust control norms and issued more than 2,000 show-cause notices. “Mumbai is finally breathing again! AQI just dropped to 60–80 from 300+,” the user wrote, while also questioning why enforcement took time despite the rules being introduced in October 2024.
Comparisons with other cities also surfaced online. “New Delhi should learn from Mumbai,” one user commented, pointing out that Mumbai’s AQI reportedly touched 52 following the crackdown.
One user even joked about how rare the sight is that Mumbaikars must post about it.
The improvement in air quality comes amid intensified enforcement measures by the Maharashtra government. Under the ongoing Clean Air initiative, authorities have cracked down on construction sites violating environmental norms. Environment Minister Pankaja Munde recently stated that between October 2025 and January 2026, officials issued 1,981 show-cause notices and 1,047 stop-work notices.
While this could be a possible reason, Twitter user 'Mumbai Rains has another explanation for this drop of AQI. In his tweet he states that the AQI has dropped due to the 'strengthening westerlies over the Arabian Sea'.
In his post he says 'Once the sea breeze circulation fully activates, AQI levels can drop rapidly over the city, often falling below 100, and at times even under 50 or 30 in cleaner pockets!'
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