Mumbai and its AQI: Citizens at stake?

Sanya Chandel

Climate change. A concept that humanity is trying to fix for quite some time. What happens, however, if we are unable to do it in time? Does a delay in fixing the problem have grave consequences? Mumbai is a large city with a huge population. Fast life and crowds are a staple of this enormous city. With these, there is also a huge output of fumes that can lead to a lot of problems. Mumbai’s air quality has gotten worse than Delhi’s from November 2022 to January 2023. Anthropogenic, human-made emissions, are not the sole cause of this event. The weather also has played a huge part in affecting the levels of pollution in Mumbai.

Mumbai, being a coastal city observes sea breezes that are strong enough to move the pollutants from the land towards the sea. This effect has reduced recently around Mumbai that has caused the particles and fumes to linger in the atmosphere for longer which results in the Air Quality Index (AQI) increasing. AQI is an index that measure the air quality of a certain area, that the government uses to inform the public about the condition of the atmosphere and whether or not there is a danger to health. An AQI above 300 is hazardous and Mumbai’s current AQI is 303. The effects of this rising level can bring about a major change in the health quality of the citizens.

Dr. Suraj Thakur, a doctor from Shree Hhospital, Thane, was asked about the adverse health effects that these levels of pollution can have on the human body. “The main danger is that pollutants like nitrogen dioxide enter our system.. This is terrible in large quantities'', he said. “The airways are at risk as they get inflamed and somebody with asthma is in even more danger. Respiratory functions also are at risk because people will inhale all these particles." He also talked about how the increase in pollution can also ‘put people at high risk of developing lung cancer’.

When asked about what he thinks should be the solution to this problem, he said, “There have been a lot of projects going on around Mumbai and I think that is one of the causes for this increase. If there is a way to manage or control the emissions made while working on these projects, then that should be done.” The process of reducing the pollutants and bettering the air quality could be quite a task but immediate action would only help in preventing permanent damage to the health of the citizens of Mumbai. A step that is taken is a step taken, no matter how small it might seem to be.