Mumbai: Mumbai woke up on Tuesday to a pleasant winter morning, complete with clear blue skies, cool breezes and a refreshing nip in the air. Yet, despite the seemingly ideal weather conditions, a thin layer of smog hovered across the city, muting visibility and reminding residents of Mumbai’s persistent air quality troubles.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast clear skies with minimum temperatures around 16°C and maximums touching 33°C, but the rising pollution levels overshadowed the winter charm.

The worsening air quality coincides with the city’s rapid construction expansion. Mumbai continues to be shaped by an array of large-scale government infrastructure projects, including metro lines, bridges and extensive road-widening works, along with numerous private real estate developments underway simultaneously.

By today morning, the air quality monitoring platform AQI.in recorded Mumbai’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) at 139, categorising it as ‘poor’. Although this marked an improvement from the more hazardous levels logged late last month and in early December, the city’s air remained far from healthy.

Several areas stood out as pollution hotspots. The Wadala Truck Terminal topped the list with an alarming AQI of 346, falling into the ‘severe’ category and posing major health risks. Mumbai Airport also registered worrying levels, recording an AQI of 213 in the ‘unhealthy’ bracket.

Industrial and residential pockets such as Deonar and Chembur followed, with AQIs of 180 and 177 respectively, marking them as ‘poor’. Kurla matched Chembur with 177, while coastal Worli recorded 173, both remaining firmly in the poor category.

Suburban regions, though relatively better, were not entirely free from pollution concerns. Charkop reported an AQI of 73 and Jogeshwari East 78, placing them in the ‘moderate’ category. Kandivali East (82), Govandi (83) and Mulund West (100) also fell within the moderate range, staying inside acceptable limits though still noticeably polluted.

To put these numbers into perspective, an AQI of 0–50 is considered Good, 51–100 Moderate, 101–150 Poor, 151–200 Unhealthy and anything above 200 Hazardous. Despite the pleasant weather, Mumbai’s battle with smog and dust continues to shape the city’s winter mornings.

New Delhi, Dec 8: Widespread flight disruptions at IndiGo are credit negative, and refunds and compensation could cause it “significant financial damage”, credit rating agency Moody’s warned on Monday.

In a note, Moody’s said that regulatory penalties from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) remain possible as the airline failed to plan for aviation rules communicated over a year earlier.

The crisis struck as the airlines entered their peak winter schedule, with “significant lapses in planning, oversight and resource management” as the Phase 2 of the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules were introduced on November 1, 2025, after being communicated more than a year earlier, it noted.

The rules reclassified midnight–6 a.m. duties as night duty and cut permissible landings in 24 hours from six to two or three. The agency said that IndiGo’s lean operating model lacked resilience to integrate the change, forcing a system‑wide schedule reset.

Over 1,600 flights were cancelled on December 5, and over 1,200 were grounded in November, with cancellations beginning on December 2. Moody’s said IndiGo is yet to fully restore normal operations.

IndiGo said it was set to operate over 1,800 flights on Monday, up from 1,650 on Sunday, adding that more than 4,500 bags have been delivered to respective customers, and “we are on track to deliver the rest in the next 36 hours”.

The airline said it expects a return to full schedules by mid-December, adding that it is working “round the clock” to normalise operations.

It has so far refunded Rs 827 crore to affected passengers, and the rest is under process for cancellations up to December 15.

Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu said in the Parliament on Monday that the government has initiated a thorough inquiry into the matter.

“IndiGo was supposed to manage the crew and roster…We will take strict action. We will set an example for every airline. If there is any non-compliance, we will take action,” he said on the floor of the Rajya Sabha.

Palghar, Maharashtra, Dec 08: A 40-year-old police constable has been arrested for allegedly raping a woman inside the Kasa police station in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, officials said on Monday.

According to a senior official from the Palghar rural police, the incident took place last week when the woman had visited the station to record her statement in connection with an ongoing case. The constable allegedly assaulted her within the premises.

Following a complaint filed by the woman, a case of rape was registered and the constable was arrested on Sunday, officials confirmed.

In the aftermath of the incident, the in-charge of the Kasa police station has been transferred. Further investigation is underway.