POLLUTION

Mumbai Retains ‘Very Poor’ Air Quality for Third Straight Day; Improvement Likely As Days Get Warmer Later This Week

Polluted air engulfs Mumbai's coastline. (Shailesh Jadhav/BCCL Mumbai) — Polluted air engulfs Mumbai's coastline.
(Shailesh Jadhav/BCCL Mumbai)

Tuesday, February 8: After two days of high air pollution, Mumbai has now completed a hattrick of days on which it has retained unhealthy levels of air quality. However, respite isn’t too far, as a slight improvement in the overall atmosphere is expected over the next two days, between February 9-10.

According to reports, a second dust storm in 15 days — which originated near the Rajasthan-Pakistan-Afghanistan border last week — travelled all the way to India’s western coast on Sunday, February 6, effectively deteriorating the entire region's air quality.

(ALSO SEE: Sci-Simplified: What Triggers Dust Storms? How Dust Storms From Middle East Impact India?)

Mumbai, being the metropolis that it is, bore the brunt of this impact, with its overall AQI surging to a ‘very poor’ 318 on Monday, February 7. A day later, the situation has remained more or less the same, as the city has recorded an AQI of 320 as of 12 p.m. Tuesday, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

Within the city, the locality of Mazgaon remains the most polluted with a ‘poor’ AQI of 292 as of Tuesday afternoon, with Kalyan (‘moderate’ AQI of 198), Kurla (150) and Vasai (146) following closely.

AQIs between 301-400 are classified as ‘very poor’, and prolonged exposure to such toxic conditions could lead to respiratory illnesses. AQIs between 201-300, categorised as ‘poor’, may cause breathing discomfort. Those between 101-200 are ‘moderate’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’ and 0-50 ‘good’.

While the intruded dust has already deteriorated Mumbai’s air quality, the coastal city’s moist conditions are preventing the dust from dispersing efficiently, thereby keeping the AQI fixed in the ‘very poor’ category. The high moisture content traps the dust particles in the humid atmosphere, prolonging the time required for the air to ‘clear up’.

However, as per The Weather Channel’s 10-day forecast, Mumbai’s daytime temperatures appear to be on an upward trend. Its maximum mercury levels will reach 26°C on Wednesday, rise to 28°C on Thursday, and then remain around 30°C on Friday and Saturday.

These warmer conditions will dilute the near-surface concentration of pollutants, helping them mix vertically and disperse into the atmosphere. Accordingly, Mumbai’s AQI may well improve and reach the ‘poor’ category in the next two days, SAFAR has predicted.

Apart from warmer days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has also forecast partly cloudy skies with the possibility of haze/fog during the morning hours across India’s financial capital over the next 48 hours. No unseasonal rains are on the cards, as dry weather will prevail over the Maharashtrian capital for the rest of the week.

**

For weather, science, and COVID-19 updates on the go, download The Weather Channel App (on Android and iOS store). It's free!

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives.