Delhi is well-known for its rising pollution levels and bad air quality. In fact, the capital of the country tops the list of ten most polluted cities across India. While Delhi's air quality has already gained international importance, its now the second metropolitan city, Mumbai whose air quality is the talk of the town.
The entertainment capital of the country recorded the PM 2.5 levels at 108 µgm-3 which is a poor standard as per SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research) while the PM10 levels of the city stood moderate at 185 µgm-3.
Mumbai being a coastal region, the sea breeze is a common phenomenon and the sea breeze commenced over Mumbai about 12:30 pm yesterday and continued till 08:30 pm in night. This sea breeze increased the humidity levels over Mumbai and the adjoining areas.
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Thereafter, the cool northeasterly winds started blowing over the region, thereby resulting in dropping the temperatures. The humidity levels were also high, and temperatures were dropping. Due to this lowering of the temperature, condensation took place leading to the formation of mist and haze.
In addition to this, the wind speed was also low and due to the light speed of winds, the pollutants in the atmosphere was also not able to lift. Thus, the local pollutants got deposited over the condensed water droplets leading to the formation of a layer of a smoke haze.
This was the reason that the pollution levels increased over Mumbai and adjoining area. The visibility also dropped to 1400 meters. This is a common scenario in Mumbai during the winter months.
Whenever, cool northeasterly winds overlay the humid winds from the Arabian Sea, pollution increases leading to the formation of mist and haze.
Further, the pollution levels in Mumbai is anticipated to continue for the next few days during the early morning hours.
Image Credit: Brett Cole Photography
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