Days after the Diwali festivities, the air quality in Mumbai continues to remain in the ‘moderate’ category. The overall air quality index (AQI) stood at 145 on Friday morning. According to the latest data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), some areas across the city reported AQI under the ‘poor’ category.

The AQI in Borivali East stood at 166, Chembur at 122, Deonar at 145, Kandivali East at 148, Mazagaon at 162, and Vasai West at 143, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s report. On the other hand, Bandra Kurla Complex reported an AQI of 230 and Navi Mumbai had an AQI of 227, indicating air quality falling into the ‘poor’ category.

Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issued a stop-work notice to 296 construction sites in Mumbai which were failing to follow the air pollution mitigation guidelines. The decision came after the municipal body provided a week’s deadline to the stakeholders in the business to follow the guidelines and keep the city’s pollution levels under control.

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According to a Hindustan Times report, the highest number of notices have been issued by the Kandivali East ward, which is 135 in number, followed by areas like Jogeshwari East, Andheri East and Vile Parle East.

On the other hand, the Mumbai Traffic Police on Thursday, 16 November, organised a special event at the Traffic Police Headquarters in Worli to create awareness against vehicular pollution. The event was organised as part of the “Drive against vehicles causing Air Pollution” campaign, reported Mid-Day. As per an official, the event primarily aimed to raise awareness regarding the impact of air pollution caused by vehicles and the possible measures to curb the same.

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In view of the persisting air quality levels in Mumbai, various schools including the Bombay International School, Dhirubhai Ambani International School and NL Dalmia High School have stepped forward to install air filters, enhance other air purification systems on the campus and have also been regularly monitoring the AQI to provide a safe and clean environment to the students, reported Free Press Journal.

Meanwhile, the national capital, Delhi has been witnessing significant degradation in the air quality as the AQI stood above 400 in several places on Friday, 17 November, according to the Central Pollution Control Board data.

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(Edited by : Vivek Dubey)