Smog shrouded city with poor AQI of 194, Borivali east and Malad west fare ‘very poor’

Mumbai: The city witnessed a hazy Saturday, with overall air quality index (AQI) inching closer to ‘poor’ category. According to the 4pm bulletin by the Central Pollution Control Board, 24-hour average AQI stood at 194 with PM2.5 being the prominent pollutant.

An AQI between 101 to 200 falls in the moderate category, between 201 and 300 is poor category, and between 301 to 400 is very poor.

Two air quality monitoring stations that recorded very poor AQI were Borivali east and Malad west, with 308 and 301 respectively.

Six stations were in the poor category, while 13 stations were on the higher side of moderate category.

The skies continued to be hazy for the fourth consecutive day. “Due to the lesser prevailing winds, the fumes of construction and vehicle exhaustion are not pushed into the Arabian ocean,” said Tuhin Banerji, scientist at Bombay Environment Action Group. He suggested the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which triggers an emergency response when the air quality worsens, should be put in place in Mumbai.

“There is a spike in asthma attacks and exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients in Hinduja,” said Dr. Lancelot Pinto, Consultant Pulmonologist and Epidemiologist at Hinduja hospital.

The minimum temperature in Colaba was 20 degrees Celsius and Santacruz recorded 19.1 degree Celsius, both were one degree below normal. The maximum temperature recorded in the Santacruz station was 29 degrees Celsius, 3.8 degrees below normal and at Colaba, it was 4.2 degrees below normal at 28.2 degree Celsius.