Diwali Night pushes Chembur’s Air Into “Severe” Zone, AQI Peaks at 401
Chembur woke up to some of the worst air in Mumbai after Diwali night. The neighbourhood’s air quality index rose to 334 on Sunday night and then to 401, which is in the “severe” band, before easing to 216 by 7 am on Monday.
Chembur’s 24-hour average AQI went from 168 to 208, moving from moderate into poor. Nearby stations were also hit hard. Deonar’s average rose from 161 to 228 and Ghatkopar’s from 177 to 226. Ghatkopar touched 421 at 1 am.
Across the city, Navy Nagar was worst at 497, followed by Sewri at 452 and Shivaji Nagar at 444. Ghatkopar, Chakala and Chembur also crossed 400 overnight. By 4 pm on Monday, 11 of Mumbai’s 25 monitoring stations were reporting poor air, and PM2.5 was the main pollutant.
Under the Central Pollution Control Board’s scale, an AQI of 201-300 is poor, 301-400 is very poor and 401-500 is severe.
Relief may take a while. Dr Gufran Beig, a scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, said westerly disturbances over the coast and low wind speeds are keeping pollutants trapped over the city. He said firecrackers are adding heavily to the pollution load and that these conditions are likely to continue for the next few days.
A thick haze covered the city through Monday. Residents with breathing problems may want to limit time outdoors, especially early in the morning and late in the evening.