From the thick smog and low visibility that plagued the city since December 20, Mumbai’s Air Quality Index (AQI) has steadily improved from “poor” to “moderate” and “satisfactory” levels at most monitoring stations. Officials attribute the cleaner skies and better air to warmer weather, a change in wind patterns, and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) crackdown on construction sites in areas that recorded consistently high AQI levels, especially in Byculla and Borivli.

The BMC recently imposed GRAP-4 norms in areas where the AQI was above 200, specifically in Borivli East, Byculla and Mumbai Central, halting all construction projects and mandating dust-mitigation strategies. The move came on the heels of data from December 28 and 29, when several areas, including Navy Nagar Colaba, Byculla, and Borivli East, registered AQI values above 270, indicating “poor” to “very poor” conditions. According to BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, stricter measures were necessary to curb the worsening air quality, which he attributed to “climate change, vehicular emissions, and dust from construction sites”.