City’s air quality at 178, four stations record ‘poor’ AQI with BKC at 272

Mumbai's air quality remains moderate, with ozone and PM2.5 particles causing pollution. Temperatures are higher than expected, but expected to lower by the end of the week.

Mumbai: The city’s air quality continued to be on the higher end of moderate as winter has progressed, touching 178 on Tuesday according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

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On Monday the air quality levels were at 155. The cause for the air pollution was ozone and PM2.5 particles, with several stations in the poor ‘orange’ category.

As per the CPCB, four stations had poor air: the two stations in BKC at 207 and 272, Malad West at 271, and Kherwadi at 214. All of them had PM2.5 as the primary pollutant.

All five of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) stations were in the orange category. PM2.5 caused Byculla and Govandi to be at 207 and 227 respectively. The sole station polluted majorly by PM10 was Kandivali at 246.

Ghatkopar and Sewri at 299 and 233, with ozone as the primary pollutant.

From the stations of the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), Colaba, Worli, Navi Mumbai, and Bhandup all had poor air due to ozone particles, at 245, 257, 241, and 226. Malad and Kalanagar in BKC were polluted due to PM2.5 particles, at 236 and 288.

Even as the temperatures continued to be warmer than expected, the minimum temperature touched a new low for this season at 18.7 degrees Celsius at Santacruz. The maximum temperature reached 35.7 degrees Celsius, a whole four degrees above normal.

The minimum temperature at Colaba reached 21.8 degrees Celsius and the maximum at 33.2 degrees Celsius, also above normal. While the forecast remains in the same range for the next few days, lower temperatures are expected by the end of the week, at highs of 30 degrees Celsius and a low of 19 degrees Celsius.