Mumbai: Residents of Mumbai woke up to a cool winter morning on Tuesday, with clear skies, light winds and a noticeable drop in temperature. The pleasant start, however, was short-lived as a thin layer of smog soon covered parts of the city, reducing visibility and once again highlighting Mumbai’s growing air pollution problem.
While weather conditions appeared favourable, air quality quickly became a concern. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast partly cloudy skies, with temperatures ranging between 18°C and 31°C. Despite this, pollution levels rose sharply in the early hours.
AQI Slips Into Unhealthy Category
According to data from AQI.in, Mumbai’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) reached 224, placing it in the ‘unhealthy’ category. Such levels can be harmful, especially for children, senior citizens and people suffering from respiratory or heart-related ailments. Citizens were advised to limit prolonged outdoor exposure.
The poor air quality mainly to dust and fine particulate matter from ongoing construction activities across the city. Large infrastructure projects such as metro lines, flyovers, road works and coastal road construction, along with private real estate development, have significantly increased dust levels. Vehicular emissions, particularly during peak hours, have further worsened the situation.
Chembur, Sewri Report Severe Air Quality
Several areas reported alarming AQI levels. Chembur recorded a ‘severe’ AQI of 330, followed by Sewri West at 328 and Versova at 322. Kurla East and Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) also fell in the severe category with AQI levels above 300.
Some suburban areas showed slightly better conditions but remained unsafe. Kandivali East and Charkop recorded AQI levels of 130 and 133 each in the ‘poor’ category, while Malad West, Santacruz East and Borivali West also reported poor air quality at 153, 157 and 158, respectively.
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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