AQI hits ‘425’ at Bandra Kurla Complex: Why the Mumbai’s air is worsening this early

Mumbai’s air quality deteriorated to unhealthy levels nearly two months before the onset of winter. On Sunday morning, the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 425, categorised as ‘Severe’, while areas such as Chembur, Deonar, Kurla, Mazgaon and Navy Nagar also recorded elevated pollution levels on the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) dashboard.

Mumbai’s AQI typically deteriorates around Diwali and remains elevated through the winter. This year, however, experts have warned that residents could be exposed to unhealthy air for a longer period due to El Niño-related climatic conditions, which can alter global weather patterns and influence monsoon rainfall and temperatures.

Civic officials, however, maintained that the readings were not uniformly severe and attributed the spike at BKC to a possible malfunction in the monitoring system. Mumbai’s deteriorating air quality Mumbai’s overall AQI entered the unhealthy range for the first time on October 2, a day before the India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced the withdrawal of the monsoon.