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City air turns ‘poor’ on Sunday
After five days of relatively clean air, the city’s air quality breached the ‘poor’ category on Sunday, with the pollutant measuring indicator — air quality index
After five days of relatively clean air, the city’s air quality breached the ‘poor’ category on Sunday, with the pollutant measuring indicator — air quality index (AQI) — touching 230. Navi Mumbai was the most polluted area in and around Mumbai with the AQI — 304 (very poor)— increasing to hazardous levels .
The System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) predicted that the AQI for the PM2.5 pollutant —particulate matter of 2.5 micron size that can easily enter the lungs and cause ailments — will remain poor on Monday at 216. The weather bureau has predicted warm conditions for Monday, with a clear sky, and day and night temperatures expected at 33 and 19 degrees Celsius respectively.
According to SAFAR, the AQI on Saturday was 189 (moderate), 181 (moderate) on Friday, 141 (moderate) on Thursday, 78 (satisfactory) on Wednesday, and 88 (satisfactory) on Tuesday for the PM2.5 pollutant. SAFAR categorises AQI for pollutants in the 0-50 range as good; 51-100 as satisfactory; 101-200 as moderate; 201-300 as poor; 301-400 as very poor and above 400 as severe.
Navi Mumbai has been the most polluted area in and around Mumbai for the past three days. On Sunday, the second-most polluted area was Malad with AQI of 308 (very poor), followed by Bandra-Kurla Complex at 304 (very poor).
Most locations in Mumbai had either ‘poor’ or ‘moderate’ AQI with Bhandup recording the cleanest air at 114 (moderate).
Researchers said a change in wind direction over Mumbai, combined with increase in moisture led to a rise in air pollution. “North-easterly winds are bringing in dust while the pollutant boundary layer is heavier as compared to the last few days, and is suspended closer to the surface owing to rise in humidity,” said Gufran Beig, project director, SAFAR. “As temperatures are likely to rise, high air pollution is expected to continue.”
PM2.5 concentration on Sunday was 107 microgrammes per cubic metre (µg/m3), against the daily safe limit of 60 µg/m3, and concentration for PM10 (larger coarser particles) was 189µg/m3, against the safe limit of 100µg/m3.
The minimum temperature in the suburbs was 17.7 degrees Celsius, close to the normal mark, while south Mumbai recorded 16.4 degrees Celsius, 3.2 degree Celsius below the normal mark. The day temperature was over 30 degree Celsius, a little over a degree Celsius below normal.
