Firecrackers spike AQI in parts of city

Mumbai's air pollution surged overnight, with PM2.5 levels exceeding 400 in several areas, despite a moderate overall AQI of 159 due to wind and heat.

MUMBAI: Another night of bursting firecrackers resulted in air pollution spiking in several parts of the city to severe and beyond levels (400 and above), particularly between midnight and 4am on Monday.

Firecrackers spike AQI in parts of city

In Sewri at midnight, PM2.5 level touched 464 and PM10 level was at 424. In Worli, PM2.5 level at 1am was 434 and PM10 was at 392. At 2am in BKC, the air quality index (AQI) touched 428 due to the prevalence of PM10 particles. Malad West’s AQI was at 405 due to PM2.5 particles.

At least another nine stations had their AQI between 300 to 400, indicating very poor air quality.

However, thanks to the wind and higher temperatures, overall AQI for the city over 24 hours was recorded at 159, in the moderate category, primarily due to the PM2.5 pollutant.

As for temperature, the maximum recorded by the Santacruz observatory was 35.5 degree celsius, 0.8 degrees above normal. Colaba recorded a maximum of 34.6 degree celsius. Temperatures will remain in the same range in the coming days, according to the IMD forecast, with a slight dip over the week.