Mumbai's air quality slips into "poor" category

On Thursday, November 26, the pollution levels in Mumbai witnessed a spike according to the System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded on Thursday was 252 which falls under the poor category. Moreover, the day before, the city witnessed an AQI of 201 which was calculated from an average of 10 locations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

The AQI values at or below 100 are generally thought of as satisfactory. However, when AQI values are above 100, air quality is unhealthy. From 201 to 300, the air is judged to be very unhealthy; children, asthmatics and people with heart or lung conditions should avoid the outdoors and all others should reduce their outdoors exertion. On the other hand, when the AQI exceeds 300, it is “hazardous” for everyone to venture outdoors.

In the past, the highest AQI of 121 since March was clocked on October 13. As temperatures dip, amidst the relaxations in the coronavirus-induced lockdown, the AQI has witnessed an increase across the city.

Air pollution results in a significant increase in the concentration of Particulate Matter which are tiny particles in the air. When these tiny particles, that are 1/30th the size of human hair, are inhaled, they travel all the way to the lungs and enter the bloodstream, resulting in serious damage to all the major organs in the body. This could be especially problematic considering that the world is grabbling with the coronavirus at the moment which primarily affects the lungs.

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