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Tale of Mumbai’s rising trend of air pollution

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Every winter, smog-filled days and nights across entire north India are a common thing and by contrast, the western region looks much cleaner.

However, a new analysis of regional air pollution levels by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has shown that proximity to the sea has not helped in containing the increasing air pollution in the financial capital, Mumbai.

Even though winter pollution levels in the western region are not as high as that seen in the Indo-Gangetic Plains due to its proximity to the sea and improved ventilation, the levels have been seen to be increasing despite the geographical advantages and favourable meteorology, the CSE analysis said.

In other words, increasing air pollution is not restricted to winters but is now an yearlong problem in Mumbai too.

“The number of bad-air days in Mumbai have doubled between 2019 and 2021, while good days are down by 20 per cent. This underscores the urgency of scaling up action across all sectors to prevent further worsening and to arrest the trend in this region,” executive director, research and advocacy, CSE, Anumita Roychowdhury said.

This new analysis, released on Wednesday, of real time pollution data is part of CSE’s air quality tracker initiative and also has an assessment of annual and seasonal trends in PM2.5 concentration for the period January 1, 2019, to January 9, 2022.

This analysis is based on the real time data available from the current working air quality monitoring stations. Review of data availability from the automated monitoring stations in the region under the continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) programme of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) shows major data gaps. When it comes to data availability calculated as number of days with adequate PM2.5 data for computation of a valid 24-hour average, among Mumbai stations, Kurla in east-central Mumbai had only 55 per cent data while Malady (West) in north Mumbai came up with 68 per cent.

“It is not clear why these stations have such poor data availability despite minimal problems of electricity and internet connectivity in the region,” said CSE’s programme manager, Urban Data Analytics Lab, Avikal Somvanshi.

Like other cities in Maharashtra and Gujarat, studied as part of the same analysis by CSE, Mumbai too has indicated a rising trend in annual PM2.5 levels after an initial drop during 2020 (when there were lockdowns) with a rebound and a rising trend visible in 2021.

The CSE analysis to indicate that the number of bad-air quality days are increasing in Mumbai is supported with Air Quality Index (AQI) data. Daily AQI analysis based on 10 oldest stations shows a 20 per cent drop in the number of good AQI days in the city between 2019 and 2021 — while days with poor or very poor AQI have doubled.

South Mumbai has the worst air within the city during winter: In December 2021, the stations in south Mumbai reported significantly higher PM2.5 levels compared to the rest of the city.

Mazgaon with a monthly average of 134 micrograms per cubic metres was the most polluted neighborhood of the city, followed by Navy Nagar, Colaba (124 micrograms per metre cube), Kurla (101 micrograms per metre cube), Vile Parle-West (101 micrograms per metre cube) and Worli (97 micrograms per metre cube).

Khindipada, in north Mumbai, which is at the edge of Sanjay Gandhi National Park in the suburbs with a monthly average of 54 micrograms per metre cube was the least polluted neighborhood. Bandra and Malad (West) reported low numbers, but the values are not considered valid due to a significantly large amount of missing data from these two stations, the CSE analysis showed.

Maharashtra

7 accused arrested in cyber fraud case of over Rs 1 crore in Mumbai

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Mumbai: The Cyber ​​Police Station has claimed to have solved the mystery of a cyber crime in which the complainant was threatened with digital arrest on WhatsApp from April 2 to April 18, 2026, and was involved in a money laundering case and was defrauded of Rs 16.74 crore online by sending fake electronic documents. During the technical investigation, the police have arrested 7 accused, identified as Sanjay Hiralal, 57, who used to generate OTPs, the 32-year-old female accused used to hide the fraudulent money, Rishi Ramchandra Meena, 38, who used to transfer the fraudulent money to bank accounts, Naushad Ali, 31, who digitally arrested the complainant and the victim and worked in this gang digitally, Muhammad Khalid Hafeezuddin Saif, 27, a digital expert, Jogesh Mehta, 43, and Zubair Hussain, 27, who helped them deposit the fraudulent money in their accounts. 613 mobile phones, 2 laptops, 5 digital sign devices were recovered from the possession of the accused. SIM cards of several companies, 10 cheque books, 2 passbooks and 2 ATM cards have been seized. DCP Bajrang Bansode told the press conference that there is no such thing as digital arrest and in such a situation, do not keep in touch on unknown social media accounts. If someone threatens digital arrest, do not believe them.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai: Mystery of Santa Cruz robbery solved during police operation, person who deposited stolen money in bank also identified, one arrested

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Mumbai: After solving the mystery of a robbery in Santa Cruz area, the police have claimed to have seized cash and other jewelries worth Rs 76.36 lakh. According to the details, between June 20 and June 27, an unknown thief broke into a house on Juhu Tara Road in Santa Cruz area for the purpose of robbery and escaped with the jewelries, cash and gold biscuits in the cupboard. In this case, the police arrested the accused Chandan Kamlesh Mukhiya, 26, a resident of Darbhanga, during technical investigation. His transit remand was obtained and he was produced in Mumbai. In this case, another absconding accused is being sought. During the investigation, it has been revealed that with the help of the absconding accused, the thief had asked his acquaintance Kailash Shah to buy land with the money and stolen property. Therefore, Kailash Shah collected the cash and transferred it to a bank account. During the investigation, the police found that Kailash Shah had collected the stolen money of Rs 46.31 lakh, therefore, the police have issued a notice to him. 200 grams of gold jewelry and Rolex watches have also been recovered. This operation was carried out under the guidance of Mumbai Additional Commissioner Abhinav Deshmukh and DCP Mohit Kumar Garg, while Santa Cruz Senior Police Inspector Dattatreya Masvekar played an important role in solving the mystery of this theft.

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Maharashtra

Demand for immediate installation of bus shelters in Govindi Shivaji Nagar, Abu Asim Azmi submits memorandum to BEST administration, concerned about safety of passengers

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Residents of Mumbai, Shivaji Nagar and Govind (M-East Ward) areas face significant hardship during summer, monsoon and inclement weather due to lack of bus shelters and seating arrangements at major bus stops. In this backdrop, Samajwadi Party Maharashtra state president and MLA Abu Asim Azmi has submitted a memorandum to BEST Committee Chairperson Trishna Vishwasrao, demanding immediate installation of robust bus shelters and seating facilities at these locations. Shivaji Nagar depot is one of the largest depots in Mumbai, serving a large number of passengers daily. Around 132 BEST buses ply in this area, and thousands of school and college students, women, senior citizens, pregnant women, disabled persons and workers rely on BEST services. In his memorandum, Azmi said that essential passenger amenities are missing at many of the six major bus stops in the area. Specifically, these include stops at Shivaji Nagar Depot Junction, Konkan Bank and Sai Mandir, Jafri School, 10 Feet Road No. 2, Sant Nirankari Nagar, and New Bus Depot. Due to the lack of safe waiting areas, passengers are forced to stand on the roadside and wait for buses. The memorandum highlights that this situation is especially bad for women, senior citizens, pregnant women and disabled passengers. Azmi also observed that local residents have been continuously following up with the depot manager and the civic department since 2023. Although the approval for the bus stop on Road No. 2 was reportedly given in 2024, the work has not yet started, leading to dissatisfaction among residents. Demand for joint inspection of all bus stops Azmi has demanded that the issue be taken seriously and a joint inspection of all bus stops be conducted immediately with representatives of local citizens. He further stressed that the work should be completed by installing robust bus shelters and seating arrangements at the relevant locations using BEST’s infrastructure fund.

BEST serves as a vital lifeline for the daily commute of millions of Mumbaikars, and it is essential that commuters have access to safe and dignified travel facilities. Hence, Azmi has demanded immediate action on the matter.

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