A drop in temperature is not the only change Mumbai has been experiencing for the last few days. The city’s air quality has also underwent a drastic transformation—it has gone from bad to worse.
On Thursday, the air quality dropped to its worst so far this year. It has been categorised as 'very poor' category, with overall air quality index (AQI) standing at 311, according to the System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).
The air quality measured on Thursday was higher than the AQI measured on January 6 (309). According to the System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the air quality index (AQI) for all pollutants on Thursday was 311 (very poor) with PM2.5 levels in the very poor category at 134 microgrammes per cubic metre (µg/m3) against the safe limit of 60 µg/m3, and AQI for PM10 at 232 (moderate).
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".
Meanwhile, minimum temperatures in Mumbai dropped marginally. On Thursday, the Santacruz observatory in the western suburbs recorded a minimum temperature of 19.8 degrees Celsius, while the Colaba observatory recorded a minimum temperature of 21 degrees Celsius.
According to Mumbai’s IMD website, on Thursday, Santacruz, and Colaba recorded high temperatures of 30.3 degrees Celsius and 27.5 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The IMD has said the marginal dip in temperatures is because of the active western disturbance spreading from central Pakistan to the Arabian Sea. IMD Mumbai centre deputy director-general K S Hosalikar said the weather will remain cloudy for the next couple of days with a possibility of rains.
"First two weeks there is possibility of rains over southern peninsula and parts of Central India including Maharashtra, as seen from anomaly," Hosalikar tweeted.
In another tweet, he said minimum temperatures are likely to dip further in the coming days.
