On Monday the air pollution levels in Mumbai were recorded higher than Delhi which has been in the news due to its high air pollution levels. The information was received from SAFAR and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.
Environmentalists have blamed the worsened conditions on the continuous emission of smoke from the Deonar dumping ground for the past few days.
The city’s air quality index (AQI) on Monday read 320 ug/m3, which again falls under the ‘very poor’ category as per the guideline of World Health Organisation (WHO). However, the pollution level of Delhi, the most polluted city of the world, according to WHO, experienced a sudden decline in the pollution levels. The capital recorded ‘moderate’ air pollution with 180 ug/m3 in AQI on the same day. In fact, Pune also recorded low AQI with 200 ug/m3 AQI. This is the fourth consecutive day that Mumbai has recorded ‘very poor’ air quality.
Out of the nine air quality monitoring stations, six recorded ‘very poor’ air quality with AQI above 300 ug/m3. The particulate matter size 2.5 (PM 2.5) that is most dangerous air pollutants was highest at Chembur with 364 ug/m3 AQI. Environmental experts blamed the rise in air pollution levels on the fire that broke out at the dumping yard at Deonar. “For the past four days, the air quality has remained ‘very poor’ due to the fire. Many areas around the site like Shivaji Nagar, Chembur, Deonar, Govandi have been affected by it. The air quality would be worse near the site. And all these are poisonous pollutants that are extremely unhealthy,” said Rishi Aggarwal, city-based environmentalist.
During the fire, particulate matter mostly of size 2.5 was released into the air that remained suspended near the ground, said an officer from SAFAR. “Due to the slow wind speed, the air pollutants remained closer to the ground surface. Until the speed of the wind increases, the city will continue to record ‘very poor’ air quality,” said Gufran Beig, project director of SAFAR.
Kirit Somaiya, BJP MLA, held a meeting over the irregularities at the Deonar dump yard with the state pollution control board (SPCB). Later, he tweeted that SPCB chairman Arun Kumar has agreed to send a team to Deonar dumping yard to find out the cause of the fire, its impact and suggest possible solutions.
