With deteriorating air quality in Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday announced fresh guidelines to curb pollution. The advisory is mainly issued due to construction and road dust. BMC has prohibited the use of wood or similar materials as fuel for cooking and the lighting of bonfires at construction sites. With the fall in humidity and calmer winds, Mumbai is struggling with worsening Air Quality Index (AQI) since last week.
BMC guidelines
In a communique issued today, BMC instructed its solid waste department officials to strictly follow the guidelines. "The concerned department has been asked to employ vigilance teams and clean up marshals to take prohibitory measures. The Solid Waste Management Department has been tasked with ensuring that dust caused by construction along roads is effectively controlled," the release said.
Following the guidelines, BMC's Solid Waste Management (SWM) department has directed assistant engineers to implement various measures, such as deploying mechanical power sweeping machines, deploying water sprinklers in high-traffic zones, promoting debris-on-call service and regulating and monitoring vehicles carrying construction materials.
BMC further instructed all assistant engineers and deputy chief supervisors to strictly adhere to these guidelines and take prompt action. A comprehensive action plan has been devised to address both major and minor factors contributing to air pollution.
Mumbai AQI
On Sunday, there were smoggy skies in the city as the AQI dropped to ‘Unhealthy and Poor’ category. The AQI ranged between 120 and 258. Some of the locations with the poorest AQIs were- Colaba (285), Mazgaon (276) and BKC (212). As per the officials. the dust particles are not settling down as the winds get clamer.
Mumbai weather updates
The temperature in Mumbai today, on December 23, 2024, is 24.5 degrees Celsius. The day's forecast indicates a minimum and maximum temperature of 22.99 degrees Celsius and 24.87 degrees Celsius, respectively. The relative humidity is 65 per cent and the wind speed is 65 km/h.
On Tuesday, Mumbai is predicted to witness a minimum and maximum temperature of 22.66 degrees Celsius and 24.74 degrees Celsius, respectively. The humidity levels will be at 62 per cent.
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(With PTI inputs)
