Mumbai’s air quality entered the moderate category on Thursday after the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) rose to 120 from 91 a day earlier, with Worli, Deonar and Navy Nagar in Colaba recording the highest levels. The deterioration also affected neighbouring urban regions, with Thane reporting an AQI of 114 and Navi Mumbai recording 104.
Within Mumbai, Worli recorded the city’s highest AQI at 160, followed by Deonar at 154 and Navy Nagar Colaba at 150. Kandivli, with an AQI of 73, and Sion, at 80, were the better-performing locations listed in the report. The figures show a sharp variation in air quality across the metropolitan region and within the city itself.
The latest reading marks Mumbai’s first continuous spell of moderate air quality since April, according to the report. The moderate category covers AQI readings between 100 and 200. For several months, Mumbai’s air quality had generally remained in the good category, with readings of 50 or less, or in the satisfactory range up to 100.
Independent meteorologist Abhijeet Modak said Mumbai should record AQI levels above 100 on a daily basis until December, with intermittent increases during periods such as Diwali. His assessment indicates that the city’s air-quality deterioration may continue through the coming weeks, although the reported forecast is an expert assessment rather than an official municipal advisory.
Modak also said the most severe conditions were expected from December onwards because of temperature inversion. During an inversion, pollutants can remain trapped closer to the ground instead of dispersing through the atmosphere. He said Mumbai could see daily AQI levels cross 200 during that period, describing this as a pattern observed over the past few years.
The readings from Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai point to a wider metropolitan air-quality issue rather than an isolated neighbourhood-level change. At the same time, the sharp difference between locations such as Worli and Kandivli underscores how air quality can vary across the urban region. The report did not provide a city or agency response, pollution-source breakdown or details of any official measures linked to the latest readings.
