Mumbai air pollution
Mumbai recorded air quality worse than Delhi for the second time in 2026, prompting renewed scrutiny from the Bombay High Court. On October 15, iQAir recorded the city’s AQI at 152 on the US AQI scale, while the Central Pollution Control Board’s citywide reading was 98 on India’s National AQI scale. The two figures use different systems and are not directly comparable.
Gufran Beig, an atmospheric scientist and chair professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies on the IISc campus, said the overall wind speed over Mumbai was becoming slower. The city’s coastal location and sea breezes usually help disperse pollutants, but that advantage weakens when winds lose speed.
Beig said that during October and November, winds generally come from the north-east of Mumbai and can carry emissions from areas such as Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand towards the city. He said pollution from stubble burning in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana was unlikely to reach Mumbai through the winds, making Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand more relevant regions to examine during this period.
Experts have identified construction dust, vehicle emissions, agricultural fires, rural garbage burning and festival-season firecrackers as contributors to Mumbai’s worsening air. Sumaira Abdulali, founder of the Awaaz Foundation, said garbage was being burnt in the open in Alibaug, in Raigad district, and in rural belts around Mumbai.
Abdulali’s sensor-based readings recorded PM2.5 levels above 1,000 near roadside garbage fires. Readings in parts of Alibaug ranged between 300 and 400. She also said tests had found toxic heavy metals in firecrackers, including those marketed as green crackers. Abdulali said the combined impact of open garbage burning and crop-residue burning could be significant depending on wind patterns.
The Bombay High Court described the situation as an emergency and questioned how Mumbai could be more polluted than Delhi. On October 21, it directed Mumbai Police, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board to explain enforcement steps concerning pollution and orders on firecracker use. A hearing on the enforcement measures was scheduled for October 26.
Mumbai’s AQI had reached around 400 in January and February 2026. Experts have also cited unusually hot and humid weather, a rain-deficient monsoon and the possible influence of a Super El Nino, along with multiple emission sources. The source also notes that many rural areas around Mumbai lack official air-quality monitoring stations. Beig said pollution visible or experienced close to the ground may not always appear equally severe in ambient readings reported by authorities.
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