National News
Mumbai Weather Update For 31st Dec, 2025: City Wakes Up To Thick Smog As Air Quality Slips Into ‘Severe’ Category Despite Cool Morning; Overall AQI At 358
WETHER
Mumbai: began Wednesday on a cool and relatively crisp note, offering residents a brief taste of winter comfort on the final morning of 2025. Clear skies, mild winds and lower humidity provided early relief, but the pleasant conditions were short-lived. As the day progressed, a thick blanket of smog engulfed large parts of the city, reducing visibility and once again bringing Mumbai’s worsening air pollution crisis into the light.
Despite favourable weather conditions, air quality quickly emerged as the city’s biggest concern. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast a bright and comfortable day, with temperatures expected to range between 18°C and 31°C. However, office-goers, morning walkers and schoolchildren stepping out early were greeted by hazy surroundings and a sharp, acrid smell in the air, particularly in traffic-heavy and low-lying areas.
According to data from the air quality monitoring platform AQI.in, Mumbai’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 358 during the early hours, placing it firmly in the ‘severe’ category. After a brief improvement in pollution levels over the past few weeks, air quality has once again deteriorated sharply. Such conditions pose serious health risks to the general population and are especially dangerous for children, senior citizens and those suffering from respiratory or cardiac ailments.
The pollution spike, primarily due to construction dust and fine particulate matter. Ongoing large-scale infrastructure projects, including metro rail corridors, flyovers, coastal road extensions and extensive road-widening works, along with aggressive private real estate development, continue to release maximum amounts of dust into the atmosphere. Vehicular emissions during peak traffic hours have further compounded the problem.
Several areas emerged as severe pollution hotspots. Chembur and the Wadala Truck Terminal recorded alarmingly high AQI levels of 475 and 441 respectively, both categorised as ‘hazardous’, indicating conditions that can seriously impact even healthy individuals. Colaba followed with an AQI of 405, also in the hazardous range. Kurla recorded an AQI of 388, while Bandra registered 385, both in the severe range.
Suburban regions showed marginally better readings, though air quality remained poor overall. Kandivali East recorded an AQI of 233, while Govandi and Borivali West stood at 267 each, all falling in the ‘unhealthy’ category. Malad West (315) and Charkop (318) also slipped into the ‘severe’ bracket.
As per standard air quality classifications, AQI levels between 0 and 50 are considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘moderate’, 101 to 200 ‘poor’, 201 to 300 ‘unhealthy’, and levels above 300 fall under the ‘severe’ or ‘hazardous’ category.
Business
Piyush Goyal to lead business delegation to Spain, Belgium and Finland to deepen trade, investment ties

New Delhi, July 12: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will lead a high-level Indian business delegation on a five-day visit to Spain, Belgium and Finland from July 13 to 17, as India seeks to deepen its economic engagement with Europe through enhanced cooperation in trade, investment, technology, innovation and sustainability, it was announced on Sunday.
The delegation will include leading Indian companies from sectors such as advanced manufacturing, clean energy, digital technologies, gems and jewellery, food processing, healthcare and design. The visit is aimed at expanding business-to-business partnerships and exploring new opportunities for collaboration with European industries, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said.
The visit will begin in Spain on July 13, where Goyal will participate in a business roundtable jointly organised by the Chamber of Commerce of Spain, CEOE and ICEX Spain Trade & Investment. The discussions are expected to focus on sectors including automotive, renewable energy, railways, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, food processing and tourism.
The meeting will bring together industry leaders from both countries at a time when India and Spain are celebrating the Spain-India Dual Year 2026, marking 70 years of diplomatic relations. Several Spanish companies, including Iberdrola, Acciona, CAF, Talgo, Gestamp and Indra, have already established a strong presence in India, while Indian technology and engineering firms such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and Larsen & Toubro are expanding their operations in Spain to support digital transformation and Industry 4.0 initiatives.
In Belgium, where the delegation will travel on July 14 and 15, the minister will visit the Port of Antwerp to study Europe’s leading logistics hub and gain insights into multimodal connectivity, green logistics and resilient supply chains.
During the Belgium visit, Goyal will hold CEO-level meetings with senior executives of Thales Group and Silox Group.
The minister will also participate in the India-EU Business Roundtable and the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) Plenary, where discussions will cover foreign direct investment, trade facilitation, sustainable technologies and resilient supply chains.
The final leg of the tour will take the delegation to Finland on July 16 and 17. Goyal will participate in the India-Finland Business Roundtable, engaging with Finnish companies across digitalisation, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and the circular economy.
Crime
Speeding Ferrari crashes into apartment building in Hyderabad Jubilee Hills

Hyderabad, July 12: A speeding Ferrari car crashed into the gate of an apartment building in Hyderabad’s Jubilee Hills area in the early hours of Sunday. There were no casualties, said officials.
The incident occurred on Road Number 5 in the upscale Jubilee Hills under the Film Nagar Police Station limits.
The occupants abandoned the heavily damaged Ferrari Roma, said to be worth more than Rs 3.50 crore, and fled before police arrived at the scene.
The gate of Fort View Apartments was completely damaged in the collision. The front portion of the luxury car was badly mangled.
The man driving the vehicle escaped after the accident. Police suspect that the person at the wheel was under the influence of alcohol and driving the vehicle at a high speed and in a rash manner.
Police registered a case and launched an investigation into the person who was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident. Police were examining the CCTV footage to ascertain if there were other persons in the vehicle.
Police shifted the damaged Ferrari to the police station with the help of a towing vehicle.
This is the second such incident in Jubilee Hills in less than a week. An SUV had crashed into Tollywood actor Dharma’s residence on the night of July 9.
A man who was under the influence of alcohol had rammed the SUV into the residence of Dharma on Road Number 10. The compound wall of the actor’s house was damaged in the incident.
The accused was identified as Karthik Kumar, who drove the SUV in a rash and negligent manner before losing control and ramming into Dharma’s house. Luckily, there were no casualties.
The actor alerted the police, who rushed to the spot and arrested the accused. A breathalyser test confirmed that the accused was drunk while driving the SUV.
Police registered a criminal case against Kartik Kumar and launched further investigation.
National News
4.5 magnitude earthquake in Bay of Bengal triggers tremors in Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam, July 12: A 4.5 magnitude earthquake in the Bay of Bengal triggered tremors in parts of Visakhapatnam and adjoining districts of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday.
Some areas in the coastal city of Visakhapatnam were jolted by the tremors around 5.05 a.m.
The tremors were felt in Gajuwaka, Mangalapalem, Sagar Nagar, Pedda Waltair, Arilova, MVP colony, Appughar and other areas.
According to the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), a mild earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale occurred in the Bay of Bengal early on Sunday, and mild tremors were felt in several parts of Visakhapatnam city.
National Center for Sesimology said the earthquake occurred at 5:05:46 a.m. IST at a depth of 10 km, with its epicentre located about 225 km off the Kakinada coast in the Bay of Bengal. The epicentre was located at latitude 16.805 degrees N and longitude 84.381 degrees E.
No casualties, property damage or any other loss have been reported due to the earthquake.
There are reports of tremors being felt in parts of Anakapalli, Vizianagaram, Kakinada and Konaseema districts.
Experts described it as a shallow earthquake. They said there was no need for people to be worried as the tremors were mild due to structural adjustments. They pointed out that the region is considered tectonically stable.
In November last year, Visakhapatnam and Alluri Sitharamaraju districts were jolted by a mild earthquake.
An earthquake of magnitude 3.7 had struck the Alluri district in north coastal Andhra on November 4, 2015. The tremors triggered panic among residents in some areas. People ran out of their houses on hearing a loud sound. However, there were no casualties or any other damage. According to the National Center of Seismology, the epicentre of the earthquake was at G. Madugula in Alluri Sitharamaraju district at a depth of 10 km. The epicentre was 110 km from the port city of Visakhapatnam.
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