Mumbai: Mumbai woke up to a refreshing winter nip on Friday, with clear skies, cooler winds and mild temperatures offering residents a pleasant start to the day. According to the India Meteorological Department
(IMD), temperatures were expected to range between a minimum of around 17°C and a maximum of 30°C, making it one of the more comfortable winter days this season.
Overall AQI In Unhealthy Range
However, the favourable weather concealed a persistent environmental concern. A thin layer of haze was visible across several parts of the city, highlighting Mumbai’s ongoing battle with air pollution. Data from air quality monitoring platform AQI.in showed the city’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) at 291 during the early hours of Friday, placing it in the ‘unhealthy’ category.
Although pollution levels showed marginal improvement yesterday compared to some of the extreme readings recorded in recent weeks, air quality remains unsafe, particularly for children, senior citizens and people suffering from respiratory or cardiac ailments.
The deteriorating air quality is largely due to dust and fine particulate matter generated by the city’s relentless infrastructure development. Ongoing government projects such as metro rail corridors, coastal road construction, flyovers, bridges and extensive road-widening works, along with aggressive private real estate activity, continue to release significant amounts of dust into the air. Vehicular emissions during peak traffic hours further worsen the situation.
Area-wise AQI Recorded Citywide
Area-wise data revealed sharp variations across Mumbai. Chembur emerged as the worst-affected locality, recording an alarming AQI of 347, categorised as ‘severe’. Juhu Tara (326) and Powai (325) also reported severe air quality levels. Wadala East and Deonar followed closely, registering AQI readings of 323 and 321 respectively, both in the severe range.
Suburban areas showed relatively better readings but were still far from safe. Santacruz recorded a ‘moderate’ AQI of 83, while Kandivali East stood at 163 in the ‘poor’ category. Borivali East (253), Malad West (260) and Charkop (280) were placed in the ‘unhealthy’ category, indicating widespread pollution across the metropolitan region.
As per standard air quality classifications, AQI levels between 0 and 50 are considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘moderate’, 101 to 200 ‘poor’, 201 to 300 ‘unhealthy’, and levels above 300 fall under the ‘severe’ or ‘hazardous’ category.
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