The air quality in Mumbai showed a slight improvement on Monday, offering a marginal respite to its residents. The city's overall Air Quality Index (AQI) settled at 122, down from 131 recorded the previous day. This reading keeps Mumbai's air within the 'moderate' category, indicating that while the air is acceptable, there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
Sharp Contrast Across City's Neighborhoods
Despite the marginal city-wide improvement, the picture across Mumbai's various localities presented a stark and concerning contrast. The disparity highlights the uneven nature of the city's pollution challenge. While some areas breathed relatively cleaner air, one locality continued to grapple with dangerously high pollution levels.
Shivaji Nagar in Govandi emerged as the worst-affected area for the second consecutive day. It recorded an AQI of 229, which is categorised as 'poor'. This was slightly worse than the 226 AQI it registered a day earlier. This consistently high pollution level makes it the only location in the city currently in the 'poor' category, posing health risks to all residents exposed to it.
Sion Records Cleanest Air, Other Areas Satisfactory
At the other end of the spectrum, Sion enjoyed the cleanest air in Mumbai. It recorded an AQI of 41, placing it firmly in the 'good' category, where air quality is considered satisfactory with little to no risk.
Several other monitoring stations across the city reported air quality in the 'satisfactory' range (AQI 51-100). These locations included:
- Bhandup with an AQI of 87
- Mazgaon at 82
- Malad at 82
- Mulund at 60
- Worli at 100
All remaining monitoring stations in Mumbai reported AQI levels within the 'moderate' range (101-200).
Understanding the Air Quality Index (AQI)
The Air Quality Index is a crucial tool for communicating how polluted the air currently is or how polluted it is forecast to become. The scale used in India categorises air quality based on the following ranges:
- 0–50: Good
- 51–100: Satisfactory
- 101–200: Moderate
- 201–300: Poor
- 301–400: Very Poor
- Above 400: Severe
The persistent 'poor' air in Shivaji Nagar, significantly higher than the city's average, underscores localized factors that may be contributing to severe pollution, requiring targeted intervention from authorities. The data for Monday continues to highlight the uneven air quality landscape of India's financial capital, where a resident's health risk can drastically change depending on their postal code.
