Keypoints:
- On Tuesday, for the first time the city’s Air Quality Index slipped into poor quality.
- The last time Mumbai experienced the AQI in “poor category” was on March 17 when the index was 272.
- Malad and Mazgaon were the most polluted with the AQI of 302 and 305.
On Tuesday, for the first time in this season, the city’s Aie Quality Index (AQI) has slipped into the “poor” category. As the speed of the winds slowed down, System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) recorded an AQI of 218 in the morning which, in the evening, improved only marginally to 211.
According to SAFAR, an AQI between 201 and 300 is considered “poor”. The last time Mumbai experienced the AQI in the “poor” category was that on March 17 when it was 272. On Tuesday, the concentration of PM 2.5, a pollutant, was 94 microgrammes per cubic metre as against the safe limit of 60 microgrammes per cubic metre for 24 hours. Also PM 10 concentration was 182 when the safe limit is 100.
Among the 10 locations monitored by Safar, two of the most polluted locations were that of Malad and Mazgaon with an AQI of 302 and 305. An AQI between 301 and 400 is considered “very poor” and it triggers a health alert. Worli was the least polluted location with an AQI of 47, which falls in the “good” category.
Gufran Beig, project director of Safar said that, “On Tuesday, there was a sudden stagnation in the air. Due to this, pollutants were not carried out of the city. The phenomenon is however temporary and air quality could get better over the next couple of days”.
The AQI gradually witnessed a rise over the past four days as minimum temperatures have begun falling in the city, said researchers.SAFAR predicted that air quality was likely to bounce back into the ‘moderate’ category on Friday with a predicted AQI of 192.
Meanwhile, the minimum temperature in Mumbai on Thursday was 21.4 degrees Celsius, almost 3 degrees Celsius below normal. However, location wise minimum temperatures were much lower with the minimum temperature dropping to 18 degrees Celsius in Chembur and Powai while maximum temperature dropped below 30 degrees Celsius at Mazgaon, Dadar, and Powai, according to the India Meterological Department. Ghatkopar was the warmest area in the city over the past 24 hours with the maximum temperature at 34 degrees Celsius and 24 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature.
