The Bombay High Court on Monday passed interim directions for the Maharashtra government and municipal authorities in Mumbai and surrounding areas to mitigate the issue of worsening air pollution
Mumbai:
Air quality in Mumbai continued to remain in the ‘Moderate’ category on Wednesday.
The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 149 at noon according to data provided by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR)-India data.
Many areas in the city dipped to ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ air quality.
The state pollution control meter, installed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) reflected the air quality of Mumbai as ‘very poor’ at 7 am. A health alert was also issued at the CST area due to the deteriorating air quality.
The air quality index varied in different areas of Mumbai. In the Bandra Kurla Complex, the air quality was recorded in a ‘moderate’ category, with an AQI of 200 at 9 am. Meanwhile, Colaba and Borivali East reported ‘moderate’ air quality with an AQI of 151 and 141, respectively.
On Tuesday, the air quality remained in the ‘poor’ category in the Bandra Kurla complex, which is one of the important commercial areas of Mumbai. Although the average AQI of the city was recorded to be 145 (moderate), as per the data released by SAFAR.
The Bombay High Court on Monday passed interim directions for the Maharashtra government and municipal authorities in Mumbai and surrounding areas to mitigate the issue of worsening air pollution.
The court permitted the busting of fire crackers only for 3 hours, between 7pm to 10pm.
The pollution level and the air quality remain a matter of concern for metropolitan cities.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government will attempt to induce artificial rain through cloud seeding this month in an effort to combat air pollution in the national capital, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Wednesday.
Rai said he held a meeting with scientists from IIT Kanpur who told him that cloud seeding could only be attempted if there were clouds or moisture in the atmosphere.
”Experts anticipate that such conditions could develop around November 20-21. We have asked the scientists to prepare a proposal in this regard which will be submitted to the Supreme Court,” the minister added.
Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of the India Meteorological Department, told PTI that research is being conducted globally on artificial rain.
”There have been a few attempts in India… in Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Globally, research is being conducted on artificial rain, which requires the basic requirement of clouds or moisture. Only under these conditions can it occur.
”Certain nuclei are sprinkled into the clouds to facilitate cloud condensation, leading to rainfall. In India, research on artificial rain is ongoing, but it has not made significant progress so far,” Mohapatra added.
The air quality index in Delhi remains to be in the ‘severe’ category on Wednesday morning. According to the data shared by the CPCB, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Anand Vihar was recorded at 452, while it was at 433, 460, 382, and 413 at RK Puram, Punjabi Bagh, Sri Aurobindo Marg and Shadipur respectively, all in the ‘severe’ category.
Several residents and commuters in the national capital complained of breathing problems and urged the government and the authorities concerned to mobilise steps to curb the runaway air pollution at the earliest.
A thick toxic haze or ‘smog’ continued to hang heavy over the national capital as the air quality remained in the ‘severe’ category on Wednesday, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) informed.