Navi Mumbai has been blanketed in a choking layer of smog over the past few nights, leaving residents gasping for breath and demanding urgent action. From Vashi and Kopar Khairane to Ghansoli and Sanpada, citizens have reported strong chemical odours and dense smoke believed to be drifting in from nearby industrial zones.
“See how much smoke has come here… there is a very bad smell as well. I think it is sulphur dioxide,” said Prof. Vinay Kumar Singh, a resident of Sector 26, while recording a video early on October 16. Speaking from Chintamani Chowk, he pointed to the haze covering the roads and warned, “It should not happen that something like the Bhopal gas tragedy happens here.”
Local environmental activists and housing societies have echoed his concern, claiming that emissions from the Thane–Belapur MIDC belt are behind the night-time haze. “It is obvious that chemicals are being released into the air and untreated effluents into the nullah,” one resident told Hindustan Times.
Real-time data backs their fears. According to IQAir, the AQI in Navi Mumbai touched 168 on October 18, with PM2.5 levels nearly four times above the safe limit. The Hindustan Times also reported that residents have been complaining of “toxic smog and suffocating odours” since late September, which intensify after midnight when winds are calm.
Officials from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) have said they are monitoring the air quality and checking for illegal emissions. However, residents argue that response has been slow and ineffective.
For now, health experts are urging people to stay indoors at night, wear N95 masks outdoors, and keep windows closed. But as Professor Singh’s plea reminds everyone: “If you have time, wake up.” For Navi Mumbai, that wake-up call may already be overdue.
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