Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is slated to chair a review meeting on prevailing pollution in Maharashtra. The meeting is scheduled to be held at the chief minister’s residence, Varsha Bungalow. The overall Air Quality at 9:30 am today was shown as 118 in Mumbai, according to data provided by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR)-India.
This was an improvement from the AQI of 131 that was recorded on Wednesday. Rain lashed parts of Mumbai yesterday, bringing some temporary respite. According to the India Meterological Department (IMD), on Thursday morning at 8.30 am, Mumbai Colaba recorded 24.2 per cent rainfall. The IMD has forecast isolated rain at one or two places in Maharashtra for today and tomorrow.
Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and a light spell of rain with gusty winds speeding 30–40 kmph are very likely to occur at isolated places in the districts of South Konkan-Goa and South Madhya Maharashtra, according to the Met Department. At 9 am today, the Bandra Bandra Kurla Complex recorded AQI at 121 in the ‘Moderate’ category. At Bandra Kurla Complex, the AQI was at 74, at Borivali East, it was at 122, Chakala-Andheri East recorded ‘Satisfactory’ AQI at 100. Chembur recorded an AQI of 150 ‘Moderate’ the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport station recorded 132 ‘Moderate’ AQI. In Colaba, the AQI was ‘Satisfactory’ 98 while Kurla the AQI was at 126, in Malad West it was 106, in Mazgaon it was recorded at 119, Mulund West AQI was 122. In Powai, the AQI was ‘Satisfactory’ 67Vasai West ‘Moderate’ 119, Vile Parle West recorded ‘Moderate’ 109, Worli recorded ‘Moderate’ 107 AQI.
State Minister Deepak Kesarkar on Wednesday that, in view of the deteriorating air quality in Mumbai, a lot of new initiatives are being taken by the corporation to reduce air pollution. “The pollution level is above what is prescribed (in Mumbai). And that’s why a lot of new initiatives are being taken by the corporation. One of them is cleaning roads with water. The second is sprinkling water on construction sites. Fogging guns, which spray water into the air, are also being used to reduce air pollution,” Kesarkar told ANI.
There has been a deterioration of AQI readings in the state over the past few weeks. On Sunday, the Maharashtra public health department issued an advisory under which a district-level task force will monitor air pollution-related illnesses and formulate action plans to address pollution concerns throughout the state.
Meanwhile, the state-run JJ Hospital in Mumbai has introduced a specialized 20-bed ward exclusively for respiratory ailments. This initiative comes after the Maharashtra government selected JJ Hospital to implement ‘sentinel surveillance’ for acute respiratory illnesses (ARI) in 17 of the most polluted cities in the state, including Mumbai.
The state’s public health department issued an advisory, urging districts to formulate action plans to address air pollution concerns. A daily report on respiratory patients will be submitted as part of this initiative. On Wednesday, a health alert was issued in the CST area due to the deteriorating air quality. The air quality index varied in different areas of Mumbai.
