The Bombay High Court on Thursday sharply criticised the Maharashtra government for attributing Mumbai’s deteriorating air quality to the volcanic eruption in Ethiopia, observing that the city’s air quality index (AQI) had been poor long before the eruption.
A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad was hearing a batch of petitions—including a suo motu PIL from 2023—on the alarming rise in air pollution across Mumbai.
Senior counsel Darius Khambata, acting as amicus curiae, informed the court that the city’s AQI had remained above 300 throughout the month, indicating consistently “very poor” air quality.
However, additional government pleader Jyoti Chavan argued that the pollution spike was primarily due to volcanic ash from Ethiopia’s eruption two days ago.
The bench dismissed the explanation, remarking, “Air pollution was already bad much before the eruption. Even earlier, visibility was poor beyond 500 metres.”
Expressing concern over the worsening situation, the judges drew parallels with Delhi’s severe pollution crisis and asked the government to outline the most effective measures to address Mumbai’s air quality emergency. The matter will be heard again on Friday.
The High Court took suo motu cognisance of the rising pollution on October 31, 2023, and later formed a committee of experts from IIT, an environmental specialist, and a retired principal secretary to recommend solutions. Since then, it has been issuing directives to the BMC and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board to control emissions and dust.
A Unicef report submitted to the court last year highlighted the gravity of the crisis, noting that 21 lakh deaths in India are linked to air pollution, including 1.69 lakh children under five.
The court reiterated that authorities must treat the issue with urgency as pollution levels continue to threaten public health across the city.
