October heat waves have just begun: Air quality in Mumbai begins to deteriorate with the departure of rain, AQI crosses 100

After the rains in Mumbai, the air quality has started deteriorating again. For the last three days, the air quality index (AQI) in Mumbai has crossed 100. Especially in the skyline, there is fog. Meanwhile, the October heat wave has also just started. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, Mumbai's AQI hovered around 127 on Sunday. The highest AQI was recorded in BKC (128), Worli (116), Kurla (87), Andheri (79) and Borivali East (59). According to the CPCB norms, the AQI between 0-50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor' and above 400 'severe'. Meanwhile, the October heat wave has started in Mumbai from the first week of October. At present, the maximum temperature is between 33 and 36 degrees Celsius. Mumbaikars are suffering from the heat and sweat. It is likely to increase further in the coming days. Mumbai's AQI stood at 118 on Saturday, while Worli had the highest AQI of 180. Earlier on Friday, the overall AQI was at 111, with 10 of the 20 active monitoring stations recording 'moderate' air quality. The highest AQI was recorded in Worli at 178, followed by Colaba at 143, Deonar at 141 and Mazgaon at 138. Thus, with the departure of the monsoon, the air quality has started to be adversely affected. After a relatively satisfactory decline in air quality for four months, the AQI has now started increasing. The AQI usually remains below 100 between June and September. Frequent rains help wash away dust and other pollutants. With the rains now weakening, experts said that changes in wind patterns and dry conditions are also contributing to the increase in pollution. Municipal corporations are also on alert. Each civic ward shall identify at least 10 pollution hotspots, which include major construction and redevelopment sites, infrastructure projects, open-source burning sites, debris dumping points, and vulnerable areas for traffic congestion. An officer will be assigned at each hotspot to monitor air quality and ensure corrective action is taken. New standard operating procedure issued Experts said the increase is not just due to insufficient rainfall. Clockwise winds are also bringing dry air and dust from the north. Due to this wastage, the municipal corporation has issued new standard operating procedures (SOPs) to tackle pollution at the ward level.