Mumbai will breathe polluted air today, too

VANISHED IN THICK AIR The buildings overlooking the Versova beach are shrouded by smog, on Tuesday. Pic/Sameer Markande

Mumbaikars woke up to a smoggy skyline on Tuesday, as the city's air quality worsened a day after Diwali. According to the data, Mazagaon, BKC, Chembur, Malad, Borivli and Andheri were the most polluted areas, with the air quality index hovering in the poor to very poor category.

Mazagaon, BKC, Chembur, Malad and Andheri are predicted to have very poor air quality index (AQI) on Wednesday, too.

Climate experts have said that the AQI across the city will remain in the poor to very poor category on Wednesday. Predictions for Thursday also do not look hopeful, however, a change in the weather could improve the air quality.

The AQI climbed from moderate level in the day to ‘very poor' late at night on Diwali day, Monday as well as the next morning. The overall PM 2.5 (fine inhalable particles) jumped to 290 (poor) on Tuesday morning and by evening, it further deteriorated to 305 (very poor) as per SAFAR.

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SAFAR or System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research, under the Government of India, is an initiative to measure the air quality of metropolitan cities.

How it deteriorated

"The past two years, 2020 and 2021, there was continuous rain before and during Diwali at many places, so the pollutants in the air got washed away. However, the situation this year has changed as the southwest monsoon has already withdrawn and the anti-cyclonic system prevails due to which conditions such as stagnation of winds prevail. As the wind is stagnant, it holds pollutants in the air. Hence, firecrackers and additional emissions lead to the deterioration of AQI. This is exactly what happened this year, as significant amount of firecrackers were burst on Diwali," explained Gufran Beig, founder and project director of SAFAR.

Late last night, the AQI shot up to 320, which later improved in the morning, but deteriorated again in the evening. The AQI will remain very poor even on Wednesday morning, after which it will start improving gradually."

Meanwhile, the IMD has predicted that the maximum temperature in the city will increase up to 35 degrees Celsius in the next 24 hours to 48 hours.

The Santacruz observatory recorded a maximum temperature of 33.8 degrees Celsius on Tuesday and the maximum temperature recorded at the Colaba observatory was 34 degrees Celsius.

375
Highest AQI in the city, of Malad, on Tuesday

Area-wise Air Quality Index

Malad: 375 (Very poor)
Mazagaon: 273 (Poor)
BKC: 293 (Poor)
Chembur: 319 (Very poor)
Andheri: 358 (Very poor)
Borivli: 232 (Poor)
Bhandup: 128 (Satisfactory)
Colaba: 183 (Satisfactory)
Worli: 51 (Satisfactory)
Navi Mumbai: 242 (Poor)