Mumbai: The Air Quality Index (AQI) across the city spiked to ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ on Sunday evening, after staying in the moderate and poor categories through the day. AQI levels started rising after sunset, as firecrackers lit up the sky, and spiked further as the hours progressed, data from multiple AQI monitoring stations showed.
Mahesh Palawat from Skymet attributed the heat to an anticyclone off the Gujarat coast, which was impacting Maharashtra and the adjoining states of Goa and Madhya Pradesh. “The anticyclone winds in Gujarat are rotating in clockwise direction, with heat from the southwest moving up northwards. “Winter has been delayed. Once it sets in by the end of November, temperatures may subside a little.
As per the Central Pollution Control Board’s classification, an AQI of 0-50 is considered good; 51-100 satisfactory; 101-200 moderate; 201-300 poor; 301-400 very poor; and 401-500 severe. Meanwhile, the maximum temperature on Sunday touched 37 degrees Celsius in Colaba and 36.3 degrees Celsius in Santacruz. The city had witnessed similar temperatures in the month of November in 2018, when the maximum at Colaba and Santacruz touched 37 and 37.6 degrees Celsius, respectively.
But they would still remain on the higher side compared to temperatures at this time of the year due to the effect of the Super El-Nino. Experts said the weather would heighten the impact of air pollution due to crackers.
Weather experts too said high temperatures would persist over the next few days. The temperature rise is expected to persist for a few more days and the nights are likely to get warmer,” he said. We have already seen lower rainfall and now we are likely to see a warmer winter,” Dr Beig said.
